Forgotten
by Sunflour
Summary: Sometimes I wish I hadn't been in such a hurry to move forward. There comes a point when it becomes impossible to go back. Pre HBP
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Okay, basically what I've done here is re-written my first two chapters and combined them. Since I got reviews for both, I'll say my thanks to my reviewers at the bottom. I re-wrote this story, trying to stay on the same plot because, well basically, the first one was terrible. Hah, so anyways, hope this new one is better than before. Enjoy!

Summary:_ Long forgotten in her cell, she sits waiting. She remembers how she got there. The question is; will she ever get out? _

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of these characters! Just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter One: **Prologue

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

She wasn't supposed to be locked up in a cell, her hands chained firmly together, and long neglected by her captors. It seemed, ever since that fateful day that started it all, her life had gone in the complete opposite direction in which she had expected it to.

That day, that was the day she got to know a side of himself he'd purposely kept concealed from the world. Her recollections of those times were easy to recall, and most cheerful as well. Almost like the crisp pages of a new, unused book, just waiting to be read by anyone who happened to come along.

With a small sigh, her eyes fluttered shut and she allowed herself to slip slowly, yet gracefully, into the past. Forcing her mind to remain clear, she focused solely on her most treasured memories; the ones of how she first fell in love with the one boy she'd never forget…

Outside the protected, school walls, a war had been raging. Soldiers, from both the Light and the Dark side, were killed or captured everyday. Students who still chose to receive the Daily Prophet only read it out of pure habit, for now, the newspaper was tragically filled from front to back with obituaries or missing wizards and witches.

She'd been in the abandoned Astronomy Tower, working furiously on a Potions essay. A homework assignment she'd been struggling to finish before curfew.

He had come for another reason, however. He was, of course, Head Boy, and she should've expected he'd be the one to patrol the forsaken tower. She'd heard his footsteps, but was too nervous to actually turn around and find his silver, emotionless eyes penetrating her small form.

He saw her, paused, and then slowly walked over to where she sat. From behind her, she could feel his presence as he edged closer, for where ever he went he seemed to carry a presence.

One that demanded both fear, and calm. On his bad days, you could practically see signs shouting, 'Danger!' around him as he stormed through the crowded hallways. He'd lost his mother early in the war, but during those times, that had become unusually common.

From the ledge of the tower window on which she sat, she finally decided to speak, though still not turning her head.

"Malfoy," she greeted, noting that her voice hardly gave away how nervous she felt.

He nodded in return, "Weasley."

The wind blew slightly, lowering the already bleak temperature. Ginny pulled her flimsy cloak firmly around her shoulders, determined to find some warmth. He did nothing to help her. He was a Malfoy, she was a Weasley, and just then, there'd be no objections.

That was all there was to it, really. On any normal occasion, she would have been indignant that he gave her his cloak as any other gentleman would've done. That night, however, as she was pushing being out after curfew, she kept her mouth tightly shut and settled for a warming charm instead.

When the news of his mother's passing had spread around the school, students had begun noticing that the young Malfoy's cold demeanor had changed somewhat. Yes, he did still mock and jeer at all Gryffindors who so much as glanced at him. Yet, his attempt was half-hearted, and everybody observed this with the highest amount of curiosity.

Was it possible that Draco could actually care for another human being besides himself? Nonsense, they would say, he's just going through a phase. Pretty soon he'll be back to his old self; a prat with no conscience.

Nonetheless, Harry Potter chose to no longer let the infamous Slytherin's insults get to him; instead, he'd give him a look of understanding and pity, trying his best to communicate that Malfoy wasn't alone in the losses.

This only appeared to incense Draco further however, so his insults grew more in hatred each time they met in the hallways, until finally, Harry gave up on being nice and went back to defending himself the best way he knew how; his wand. There wasn't a day that had gone by where Malfoy and Harry hadn't been fighting or dueling on every given occasion.

After a few minutes of silence, Malfoy asked in a weary tone,

"Haven't been able to buy a new cloak yet, Weasley?"

Ginny brushed this comment off, having heard it many times before and continued to concentrate on finishing her assignment, trying only to focus on her quill as it stained the parchment. Annoyed, Malfoy tried another attempt.

"Well thank the gods! Finally, one of the Weasleys knows how to keep their filthy mouths shut."

Still, she showed no sign of having heard him. Infuriated, he leaned down and grabbed her shoulders, coercing her to look at him.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you, Weasley? Gone deaf, have you?"

Seeing her eyes grow wide with worry as he continued to shake her, he promptly stopped and straightened up. Confused at his abrupt behavior, she gave him a questioning glance but returned to her essay.

"You alright, Malfoy?" She asked, resuming her concentration.

He glared at the back of her head, seemingly determined not to let his feelings of frustration at her show through and simultaneously remained impassive with the situation.

"You wouldn't understand." He replied bitterly, turning and looking out the window.

"Wouldn't understand _what_ exactly Malfoy?" she inquired quietly, so close to finishing her essay that she wasn't in the mood for games.

"Everything, alright? I can't bear this school, the students here, who think they can just wander in abandoned towers whenever they please, and I don't need anyone's sympathy. Including yours!" he shouted suddenly, startling Ginny.

"Well, enlighten me then, Malfoy. Why, exactly, should I be 'sympathizing' towards you anyway?" She said with sarcastic enthusiasm.

His eyes flitted over to her own briefly, giving her a scathing look before returning to the Hogwarts' shadowed grounds.

"Shove off," he muttered darkly over his shoulder.

Ginny gave a frustrated sigh and heatedly tossed her quill down, feeling slightly defeated at the prospect of not being able to finish her paper. She shifted around so that she was facing him.

"You always push people away, even if they're showing the slightest bit of concern." She ground out, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, well the next time I push you away, I hope there's a small House Elf kneeling behind you so you fall and hit your head." He snapped angrily. "You want to help, then why don't you start by minding your own personal affairs?"

By now, she was standing, her eyes alight in anger.

"What I don't understand is why, even though there are a _horde_ of people who've all lost someone as well, you act like you're the only one. You isolate yourself from others, trying _not_ to draw attention to yourself, but ending up succeeding in just the contrary. _Everyone_ recognizes you, Malfoy! You will _always_ be noticed!" She shouted, surprising even herself with the intensity in her voice.

"Jealous, Weasley?" he smirked, his eyes dancing mockingly as he stepped away from the ledge and studied her reaction calculatingly.

Her fingers itched to slap him. Instead, she whirled around angrily and took deep, calming breaths.

Ironic how her worst enemy had been the first to realize something she'd taken years to fully conceive. Yes, she was indeed jealous. Being the youngest of seven did have its disadvantages at times.

Attention wasn't the only thing she wanted, though.

They stood, listening only to her heavy breathing and the profound, lulling quietness surrounding the room. Finally, she heard his steps retreat. The door closed softly behind him.

Though it seemed like the events of that night had occurred ages ago, it still surprised Ginny that it had indeed happened barely two years before she'd arrived in this prison of a basement; her new home.

She was snapped from her thoughts as the cell door opened, emitting an eerie scarping noise. It was almost as if the door wasn't meant to open, yet it was being forced to by an, as of yet, unseen enemy.

Ginny could make out the faintest details of a burly person lurking in the doorway. He, as she assumed the person to be a man, threw in a half-filled container of water, then a plate of stale food.

The same had occurred either once a day, or every few days, depending on how lazy her guard was at the moment. Never once had he uttered a single word to her. She'd tried speaking to him before, asking him if she would ever be allowed to leave her cell. Always, she received the same reply; painful silence.

'At least in Azkaban, they give you one meal a day.' Ginny thought bitterly as she sat down and leaned against the stone wall. Wincing, she quickly sat up straight again, having forgotten about the old scars on her back that refused to heal.

Looking around with a sigh, Ginny observed her caliginous surroundings. In the far left corner, where the supposed water closet resided, there stood a shoddy toilet, or what Ginny liked to call, 'The Throne.' It was covered in rust and charmed to be extremely uncomfortable, almost to the point of being painful, whenever the user took a seat. One of the many 'bright ideas,' her captors had come up with over the time she'd spent there.

In the right corner, a poor excuse for a bed rested. Its mattress was too firm and served to make Ginny's back feel immensely stiff every time she tried to sleep on it. For this reason, most nights found Ginny huddled in the corner, lying on the dirt floor.

It had been a long and eventless day, interrupted only by the sound of distant cries from other prisoners, yet she found herself strangely full and tiredly pushed her plate away. Deciding she might as well attempt to get some rest, she lay gently on her side, where it surprisingly caused little pain.

Though now she was as good as dust to them, her first months at the prison were quite different. Her captors had taken to beating her every night or so, trying to coerce her to leak information. It had been difficult, and painful…oh, so very painful, but Ginny had managed not to say a word, but answered instead with anguished screams.

Eventually, they realized she wouldn't talk and left her alone, deciding only to make her cell a most improper and uncomfortable living situation as was possible. Disappointment flooded through her as she wearily sat up. These thoughts would not do.

She looked towards the door, hoping against all odds to find it unlocked. However, it was bolted shut, as always.

As she did every night, Ginny prayed to God that someone, anyone, would come and take her away from this hell. Sometime later in the night she drifted off, dreaming of the man that'd haunted her mind for two years. It was usually in her dreams that she could remember the most about him, even the faintest of details.

The way his icy, blonde hair hung limply in front of his sparkling, silver eyes. His cologne, a scent nearly indescribable, except for the vague hint of firewood, lingered in places he'd been. His body itself was something that could take hours to describe, but one thing Ginny knew was that her hand fit perfectly into his. It'd never been uncomfortable, or clammy, but gave her the sense of security, like no matter what happened, she would be okay because he was holding her hand.

"Draco," she mumbled mournfully in her sleep. There would be little rest as long as memories of _him_ filled her mind. She felt her mind wander and began remembering her previous dreams.

Ginny had always been one of those people fascinated by dreams. Most people she knew would think of a dream as simply an imaginative story that you could never remember once you'd woken up. Not Ginny though. To her, a dream was an alternate universe, where anything could happen to anyone anywhere.

That was her favorite part. Once she was deep asleep, she found that she could take a journey through the darkest depths of her mind, and find out exactly who she was, even if it was for the briefest of moments.

She could relive every triumph or tragedy, go back and taste every dessert ever made, become the world's most beautiful singer or most graceful dancer, and run much faster than should've been humanly possible.

Content with imagining the impossible, she sighed peacefully, though subconsciously trying futilely to keep flashes from the final battle clear of her mind. Her attempts were useless, however, as Ginny spend the rest of the night tossing and turning on the cold floor.

xXxXx

Ginny was on a mission.

Heading towards the back of the library, a part which most never used anymore because the books there were extremely rude, she scanned the passing aisles for a book that could help her accomplish her task; a Potions essay she needed to complete and hand in immediately after lunch, which she was skipping just so she could finish the blasted paper.

'Greasy git,' Ginny thought vehemently of the former Slytherin, now teacher. 'Of course, the one book I need would be back here. It's not as if he shouts at me enough in class, now he'd like to have a book join in the fun?'

She stopped abruptly, faintly hearing something. The sound was muffled somewhat, so she had trouble determining what exactly it was. It sounded like…like something…no, some_one_ was crying!

Spending a few seconds reveling her newly found, spectacular hearing, she quickly moved closer in the direction the sound was coming from, which ironically enough, was the back of the library.

Stopping in front of a bookcase, she stooped down and peeked through the gaps, trying to see who it was that she had heard. To her surprise, she saw nothing except an expensive looking cloak lying on the ground.

Eager to know whose it was, she walked around the bookcase and got down on her knees. The cloak looks costly she thought as she picked it up and examined it curiously.

'Maybe there's a nametag somewhere.' She continued to search, but found none. Just as she was getting ready to put the cloak down and continue her quest for the potions book, she heard a familiar voice drawl,

"What Weasley, are you so poor that you have to steal someone else's cloak?"

Whipping around quickly, she glared as she saw Malfoy, leaning against the same bookcase she had just hid behind. What caught her off guard, though, was not that he always seemed to show up at the oddest of moments, but that his eyes were slightly bloodshot.

It looked as if… no it couldn't be… had Malfoy actually been crying?

Author's Note: Thanks to the2ofus-wedreamas1, Lady Orical, Pink Monkey Pirate, Jade Summers, who originally had reviewed for my story before it was re-written. It seems that I have lost my beta! I can promise you I would've posted, but I had to go over it at least 50 times trying to find all the mistakes. I probably still missed some too! So anyone who is interested, tell me so in the review…speaking of which

Review

3 Sunflour


	2. Chapter One

A/N: Okay, I'm gonna make this A/N short, I promise. Just in case some of you didn't notice, the first chapter was a prologue, so I'm going to stay in the current state of time ((the past)) for a couple of chapters… if anyone has any questions, I'd be glad to answer them!

Oh and real quick, I've made only minor adjustments here. The next chapter should be up in about a week or so. Sorry about the wait!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot!

Forgotten

Chapter One:

On any other given day, it would've been perfectly normal to see someone crying. It even happened more than usual as of late.

What you never expected though, was the 'Prince of Slytherin' to be crying; especially one that would never cease to tease and ridicule others. One who never so much as smiled, unless he was being vulgar, and even then, he chose to smirk. Never to be crying though. And honestly, that was nerve-wracking to witness.

That was the reason why Ginny was standing within the far depths of the library, gaping at him, simply waiting for hell to freeze over. Malfoy, noticing her stare, smirked haughtily and sauntered towards her.

"See something you like, Weasley? I seem to effect girls like that all the time, so don't worry, it only gets better." he sneered. Ginny, still somewhat dismayed, said nothing.

"Seeing as you are unequipped in the method of sarcasm, I'll be leaving now, but if you so much as breathe a word of something you _think_ you might've seen, you'll wish you were never born."

He snatched the cloak out of her hands, and departed from the library, but not before giving her one the coldest looks she had ever received. It felt as if she could literally feel his loathing, and hatred towards her.

That night, as she went to her usual haunt, the Astronomy Tower, to finish her another essay, this time Herbology, she was surprised to find that someone was already there. A person she didn't particularly wish to see at the moment; Malfoy. He was leaning against the wall, looking out the window.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. He glanced at her.

"Last I heard, I was a prefect, and it _is_ getting rather close to curfew. I think of all people, I should be asking you, what _you're_ doing here." He answered calmly, looking her up and down, as if sizing her up. Aggravated, she walked over to him.

"You still haven't answered my question." She said, her eyes dancing with suppressed anger.

"Since when do you have _any_ jurisdiction over me?" he replied, still wearing that god forsaken smirk.

'This is my spot,' she thought, 'and he has no right to come and act like he owns it.'

She figured that if she stayed, he would eventually leave. So she sat down, slamming her books in the process, and glared determinedly out the window. His eyes twinkled with hidden amusement as he chuckled darkly.

"Think you can get rid of me that easily, Red?"

To her astonishment, he sat down right next to her. Rather close. _Too_ close, if you asked her. Unconsciously, she scooted over, moving slightly away from him. Noticing that he made her uneasy, he smirked and inched closer to her.

Her eyes grew wide as she realized what he was doing and she noticed that he would have her backed against a wall if she continued backing up. It was obvious that he was trying to corner her. Leaning in close, he breathed softly into her ear.

"What's the matter Weasley? Scared I might bite?" he whispered, his lips brushing her neck.

Ginny was determined not to show her true feelings, which, at the moment, were screaming 'Hell yes I am, and damn proud!' Ashamed as she was to admit it, she _wouldn't_ actually mind Malfoy getting even closer to her. The temptation she was facing as his lips grazed against her ear again was already causing turmoil in her mind, and sent shivers down her back. Glaring as best she could, she retorted.

"I wouldn't be surprised! You are a Slytherin, but that doesn't frighten me. I know _exactly_ how to handle scum like you." She said, raising her voice somewhat, for she knew that if she didn't, it would shake unsteadily.

"You sure about that one, eh' Red?" he drawled. He leaned in closer, if that was even possible at this point, considering their already close circumstances. Eyes glowing with longing, she _almost_ allowed him to. Her reasonable side was berating, 'What in God's name are you doing!' Her more evil side, however, quickly pushed that thought aside, and focused her attention on the main attraction, Malfoy.

'Well, he is considered one of the hottest guys in Hogwarts, so it would be okay right? Just one kiss, it could even be over in a few seconds. Right, I'll kiss him long enough to make him _think_ he's won this one, and then I'll pull out.'

Just as their lips were about to make contact, though, she came to her senses. Realizing she was about to kiss the _enemy_, she quickly sprang back with a yelp and fell from the ledge to the ground. Rubbing her bum, she looked up at him. He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Well?" she demanded. He stood, dumbfounded. "Are you going to help me up or not?" she cried. At this he gave an indignant shout, as if he would ever be bothered to help a _Weasley_ off the ground. She rolled her eyes dramatically and pushed herself off the stone floor, huffing angrily.

'And here I was thinking of his, oh so many, good qualities. How could I have even _considered_ that he was not only drop, dead sexy, but a gentleman as well?'

There was an awkward moment of silence while she pondered her last thought.

'Hold your horses girl!' she thought, 'since when is _Draco Malfoy_ considered _sexy_? It's one thing to be _thought of _as one of the hottest blokes in Hogwarts, mostly because she had all the girls of Hogwarts on her side. To even admit that he's…dare I even think it, quite handsome, that's just wrong!' she thought shuddering slightly.

Shaking her head to clear her head, she looked up and found Malfoy giving her an odd look.

"You know, they say that one sign of being mad is talking to yourself."

'No! I did _not_ say that out loud, did I? That's completely humiliating! Almost worse than that time I got a detention for 'winking' at Snape. Well, that's what he thinks at least. I had dust in my eye! It's not my fault that the greasy git never bothers to perform a cleaning spell on his classroom, let alone on his hair! ' she thought, and once again sat down on the ground. This was just too much to handle in one night!

She was snapped out of her reverie when she heard Malfoy's stifled sniggering.

"Did I say that out loud too?" she asked quietly, silently begging that the answer would be a no. He snorted in an un-Slytherin way, and her answer was confirmed. Was fate out to get her or something? She really needed to work on not saying those kinds of things out loud. Who knows what kind of trouble _that_ could get her into?

Standing, Malfoy offered her a hand. Shocked, she simply stared. Just moments before, he would have rather befriended Hagrid than help her up, and now he'd extended to do just that?

Shaking the strands of hair that had fallen out of her messy pony tail away from her face, she swatted his hand away and pushed herself up, decided this small movement would teach him a lesson. She wiped the dirt off her robes, glanced up at him and glared.

"Well, I guess that proves me right then. You really have no idea how to handle 'scum' like me, as you so nicely put it." Malfoy declared triumphantly with a bit of sarcasm.

Laughing, he started towards the door. Looking over his shoulder, he said coldly,

"See you around then, Weasley."

He'd walked out of the tower and was just about to head down the stone steps when he suddenly paused and turned. Her eyes narrowed, just what was he doing?

"Oh, and one more thing before I go, Weasley. Detention; you're out after curfew. I'll talk to Professor Snape about when it should be held."

He gave her one last smug look, and, before she could even begin to protest, quickly strode out of the tower and proceeded to the dungeons, where she assumed, the Slytherin Common Room resided.

xXxXx

The next morning, Ginny woke up with an impending feeling of doom. She had yet to explain to Ron just why she had gotten that detention. Sighing, she slowly pulled the covers off of herself and opened the hangings around her bed. Glancing at her watch on the night stand, she found that she'd actually woken up two hours early.

Ginny, who was always one that liked to be the _only_ one awake, trudged loudly to the showers, grinning in satisfaction as she heard her roommates grumble drowsily and wake up.

She stood under the faucet for the majority of her shower, before eventually washing her long hair, which now reached the middle of her back, and continued with her morning routine. After performing a quick drying spell on herself that she got from Witch Weekly, she wiped the fog off the mirror.

She sighed softly at what she saw. Her long locks had formed a slight wave to them, giving her some movement. She despised those waves, however, and hastily pulled her hair back with a clip. Ginny had just finished changing into her robes when she heard an unmistakable voice shout,

"GINEVRA WEASLEY! YOU'D BETTER BE WALKING DOWN THOSE STAIRS RIGHT NOW, OR SO HELP ME!"

Rolling her eyes, she prepared herself for his lecture. Her one question was; how had he found out so soon? This was immediately answered as she was about to walk down the stairs.

Hermione stood, absently pushing her soft curls out of her face, waiting for Ginny with an anxious expression on her face. She fiddled with her hands as she hurried over to Ginny upon seeing her arrive.

"Oh gods, Gin, I'm sorry! I went down early for breakfast this morning and, out of the blue, Professor Snape comes up to me and 'reminds' me that you're to have your detention tonight at ten with Filch." She grimaced and continued. "I thought you had already told Ron, so when I came back to the Common Room to tell you, he was there and…I- I mentioned it." She finished miserably.

"S'alright 'Mione, I was going to have to tell him anyways. I'm just glad I didn't have to be there when he heard, he's got a horrible temper-"She said lightly but was cut off as Ron continued to shout at her from the bottom of the stairs.

"I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU KNOW!" he said angrily. Not wanting to anger him further, Ginny slowly walked down the stairs. As soon as she was within his vision, he started with his 'speech.'

"How could you get a detention? It's barely even the start of the school year, and already you've gotten in trouble more times than I care to discuss. Out after curfew I heard. Ginny, you of all people know that it's not safe to be out! I'll have you know that I'm going to tell Mum, Merlin knows if even she will be able to talk some sense into you!" Ron would've gladly continued if Ginny hadn't intervened heatedly.

"Oh, so now _I _get lectured about being out past curfew. Ron, how many times have I caught you? I'd have to say a least more than twenty, and if it weren't for Harry's invisibility cloak, you'd have already been exiled from Hogwarts, let alone the Burrow! So don't you _dare_ get on my case about being late. It's not like mum will take much notice anyways, she's been so busy training to be a Medi Witch and all.

"And at least I had good reason to be out! I, unlike some people who shall remain anonymous," she spat, glaring with a fiery passion at Ron, "was studying. Let's see, the last time you came in here well past the curfew, was after your little snog session with Hermione," she looked behind her at the girl afore mentioned, and mouthed a swift apology, "in the Room of Requirement! You just be glad I'm not out shagging some Ravenclaw." With this she glanced at Harry, who was red in the face, her eyes softening in another fleet apology before quickly snapping back angrily to Ron.

Ron stood, dumbfounded, with his eyes wide. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then promptly closed it and giving her one last look, turned to brood at the couch by the fire. Smiling smugly, Ginny gathered her books and walked to the portrait. Just as she was getting ready to close the portrait, though, she heard Ron ask one last question.

"Gin, just tell me who it was that caught you and assigned your detention to Filch?"

After another long confrontation with Ron that involved her repeatedly telling him that Malfoy had done no harm other than insult her, Ginny finally reached the Great Hall for breakfast and was currently repeating the story to her friend, Colin, as she buttered some toast for the two of them.

"Well, looking on the bright side here, Gin, at least Malfoy didn't dock points. If that'd happened, you'd have the whole house breathing down your neck, let alone Ron." He offered, shrugging his shoulders.

Ginny, agreeing, nodded her heard and poured two glasses of pumpkin juice and handed one to Colin. She glanced up as the Great Hall doors opened and saw Ron walk in. He looked about the Hall with a glare, his eyes setting upon only two people; Malfoy, and Ginny.

Ginny winced as he came over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to her. Would this boy ever just leave it be? Colin raised his eyebrows and looked nervously between the two siblings, knowing well enough to be wary.

Ginny, not wanting to start another heated argument, and in the Great Hall of all places, hurriedly finished her breakfast and picked up her books to leave.

"Now wait just one second!" Ron said, gently grabbing her arm and turning her to face him. "I know I may have overreacted a bit in the Common Room, but you do know I'm only looking out for you, right?" Ginny nodded as he looked around before continuing quietly, as if to keep his next words from being further repeated.

"I know I promised not to be as protective anymore, especially since you're a 6th year and all, but just promise me you won't be out too late that often, alright?" She gave him a small smile and agreed.

"Sorry to be the one to interrupt on a 'moment', but, Gin, we're going to be late if we don't hurry." Colin said apologetically. Ron and Ginny both smiled sheepishly. Ginny waved one last goodbye to Hermione and Harry, who had just walked in, and followed Colin out into the hallway.

"Of course the first class of the day has to be History of Magic. I'll be sleeping before he even _begins _to talk about the War of 1470!" Colin complained. Ginny laughed lightly as they entered the classroom.

"I think I'll join you on that." She added. For the rest of the hour long class period, both Ginny and Colin slept, with Ginny's head resting on Colin's arm, and Colin idly playing with her hair as he muttered a spell to make their quills take notes for them. They only woke up as the rest of the class began leaving, and a student nudged them awake.

"You two had better get moving, the Slytherins have Binns next." He warned. Ginny thanked him and jumped out of her chair, picking up the papers that had fallen, while Colin packed their books in their bags. With a few quick steps, they were out the door right as Slytherin started into the classroom, shoving the two into the hallway in the process.

As Ginny collected her books from Colin, she turned and gave the whole class a rude hand gesture and chased after Colin, who was late for his next class. He had Divination, while Ginny had Arithmacy. Colin's class had started five minutes ago, while Ginny's was due to start in two.

Unfortunately for the both of them, it seemed there were two Slytherins who were also running quite late that day.

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, it was slow going, but it finally got pulled off! I'll try to post the next one quicker.

Thanks to those of you who reviewed last time! They really pushed me to get this chapter into writing!

Q-BriarXJade-Q: This story finished? Definitely not! Ha, it's only beginning.

Amy Martin: Thanks for the offer of beta-ing! I'd really appreciate the help! Next chapter will be emailed to you in advance, thanks again!

The Unknown Weasley: The story in the first chapter is taking place is Ginny's present time. She's in her 6th year at Hogwarts, but, since this chapter is in the past, you won't really know exactly when she gets put in the cell that she's in for the first chapter. I do hope I gave some more characterization in here. I hope this doesn't keep you from reading the rest of the fic, but this is not a G/H story. It might suggest it here and there, but otherwise, strictly D/G….oo spoilers, gotta love em'.

Anyone who reviews gets a chapter dedication! (That's a good thing, I swear!)


	3. Chapter Two

A/N: Okay, first off, sorry! This chapter was a pain to write, and I got stuck with a couple paragraphs in the middle, but finally, I pulled out an ending. Alright, since you've all been waiting for so long, I'll just stop right now!

Chapter Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my favorite, and only, reviewers; Charming Vision, Alexandra J. Malfoy, Fleury, and Jade Summers. Thanks guys!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Two**:

xXxXx

Ginny hastened her steps as she quickly realized how late the both of them were going to be. Colin, having the more lengthy legs, was at least five paces ahead of her and going at a much swifter speed. Noticing that Ginny was falling behind, he patiently slowed his steps.

It was utterly quiet in the halls, aside from Ginny's slightly labored breathing, and their shoes clicking against the stone. Glancing out the nearest window, Ginny could see the massive lake, and wistfully thought of how cool the water must be. She could just barely make out Hagrid's hut as well, and noticed that his chimney wasn't showing any signs of a fire burning. Obviously, he was out teaching a class.

The pair continued in this fashion, Colin speeding up, as he was nervous about being tardy, and then slowing down to allow Ginny to catch up. So distracted were they that they didn't notice that Ginny's bag was slowly ripping open until it was too late.

"Bloody hell!" Ginny exclaimed, and proceeded to cry out a phrase of colorful curses that would've had even her brothers blushing. Colin, sighing and nervously glancing at his muggle wrist watch, knelt down to help her pick up her things.

"Shush, Gin, cursing worse than a sailor isn't going to get us out of losing house points, though it might impress Gryffindor tower enough to forgive us." He teased, trying to lighten her mood. Ginny tried to grin, but it came out as more of a grimace as she heard footsteps coming around the corner.

Thinking it was a teacher, she hastily crammed the rest of her papers and quills into her tatty, brown bag, while thinking up excuses as to why they were late. She highly doubted they would be pleased with the truth; that both she and Colin had fallen asleep in their last class.

"Dammit." Colin muttered under his breath, and received a bewildered look from Ginny. He gestured with his head down the hall.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," an all too familiar voice sneered. Ginny looked up and glowered at who she saw. Malfoy; and he wasn't alone.

Blaise Zabini accompanied him. He had long, shaggy, ash-colored hair that, curiously enough, matched his ash colored eyes, which had a tinge of dark blue in them if you looked closely enough.

Ginny was not the first to acknowledge this, as she was among the many who found Blaise to be _very _attractive. The one thing that kept Ginny from openly checking him out in the Great Hall or in the hallways was the fact that his appearance could be said to be exactly the same as that of Tom Riddle's. Shuddering, she pushed all thoughts of that experience out of her mind.

"Sod off, Malfoy!" Colin, standing up, hissed in a low voice, indicating he was trying to retain his anger. Malfoy laughed darkly, while Zabini merely smirked and cast Ginny a long look. This alone was enough to cause her to shiver so she hurriedly averted her eyes to the stone floors instead.

"I do believe that the two of you have already broken two rules." Zabini said, calmly observing Ginny as she angrily stood up.

"What in blazes are you talking about?" she demanded. Without missing a beat,

"Loitering in the corridors and speaking rudely to those of higher superior than you." Malfoy gleefully stated.

"Is that so? And just what do you think _you're_ doing?" Colin quickly countered. The two Slytherins shared a dark look before looking back at Ginny and Colin.

"Are you saying that _you,_ a filthy mudblood," Zabini spat, "Are superior to _me_?" With this Colin attempted to attack him, and would have succeeded had it not been for Ginny restraining him.

"Oh, Colin, come now, he's not even worth the fight, or the detention for that matter." She soothed, trying in vain to calm him.

"Aw, pretty-boy Creevy needs a pathetic Weasel to save the day. Sounds a lot like Potter, the prat, which would make sense, considering the both of you follow him around like lost puppies." Malfoy said, gesturing with his hands as if to emphasize his point. At this, Ginny tensed and Colin simply glared.

"You know, Weasley, you might as well just sit back down on the ground, Merlin knows that's where you belong; in the dirt." Zabini added, giving her a once over, his face an expression of pure disgust. He turned to Malfoy as the two of them laughed cruelly. Colin once again attempted to intervene, but instead Ginny pushed him aside and lunged for Zabini as his back was turned.

"AHHRRRGG!" he screamed as she jumped onto his back knocking him down to his knees.

"You are the most pig-headed prat I've_ ever_ had the _misfortune_ to meet!" she shrieked, pulling at his hair and attempting to slap him. Zabini was shell-shocked. He couldn't find a way to get her off of his back without somehow striking her first, and he was well trained as a boy not to hit ladies.

'Then again, this is a Weasley." He thought ruefully, dodging as he nearly missed one of her punches.

"Draco, little help here?" he cried, purely exasperated. Malfoy, still astonished himself, hesitated before finally jolting forward to try and detangle Ginny, who currently had Blaise face flat on the ground with his arm twisted back as she continued to curse at him.

"Ow! Why you little whore!" he cried, sucking on his hand where Ginny had bitten him. Colin was now doubled up on the ground with laughter, and had tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes. He immediately sobered when Malfoy sent him a harsh glare, but then fell back to the ground snickering as Ginny then cast a binding spell on Blaise and turned to shove Malfoy against the wall.

And this was how Professor Snape found them, with Blaise bound and bruised on the ground. Colin was very near to a heart attack from laughing so hard, and wiping tears from his eyes. Finally, and perhaps the most comical scene of them all, Ginny had Malfoy, who was _whimpering_, backed up against the wall and was binding his hands together behind his back as she angrily yelled at him for even _considering _her to be of lower status.

"Miss Weasley," Snape cried aghast, "Just what do you think you are doing?"

Somehow, 'This isn't what it looks like' just didn't seem to quite cover the events that had transpired.

xXxXx

"_Another_ detention, Gin?" Sighed a girl named Kendra, one of Ginny's roommates and also one of her best friends. Ginny was currently scribbling off the last few sentences to her Transfiguration essay.

"I can't believe McGonagall assigned a two-foot essay due tomorrow!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Don't try to change the subject!" Kendra said, narrowing her crystal-blue eyes and brushing her long, raven-colored locks off her shoulder. "What about Colin? How bad did he have it?"

"Well, when Professor Snape came, Colin wasn't doing anything, the lucky git, so Snape said I could just serve his hour as well as mine." Ginny grumbled. "Colin offered to take his detention anyways, but Snape wouldn't have it. Zabini and Malfoy just smirked while I lost 100 house points for '_attempting_ to harm two students.' Attempting? If you'd of seen the way Malfoy was whimpering, and the way Zabini was practically licking the dust, you could definitely say that I'd more than _attempted_!" she said vehemently. Kendra just laughed.

"Well, good on you, then!" she said heartily, before getting an earnest look on her face. "Oi, you ready for dinner yet, I'm half-starved as it is!" That was Kendra for you though, cheerful, but blunt and to the point at the most random moments.

The two then made their way to the Common Room, Ginny now listening to Kendra's story of her uneventful day.

"Gin, can you keep a secret?" Kendra asked quietly just as they neared the bottom of the staircase. Ginny nodded as a sign for her to continue. "Well, it's just that lately, I've-"But was cut off as loud cheers interrupted her.

The whole of Gryffindor stood, gathered round the steps, congratulating Ginny. She looked momentarily confused, and sent a questioning glance towards Kendra as to how they had known. Kendra shook her head, indicating that she hadn't been the one to tell. Then, they both realized the obvious answer; Colin.

Colin, with his tall stature, shaggy blonde hair, and shadowy green eyes seemed to have a lot going for him. Girls used to flock after him as well, before Ginny and Kendra pushed and shoved their ways into his life, making a permanent mark.

The three could rarely be seen without each other, aside from classes. Over the four years that the three had become friends, Ginny and Kendra had learned at lot. One thing was that Colin couldn't keep a secret for the life of him.

"Wow, Gin, what'd Malfoy and Zabini say to make you nearly _kill_ the both of them?" Dean Thomas asked in awe.

"I heard you threw one of them down the main staircase!" Another Gryffindor shouted.

Ginny just grinned sheepishly and slowly, dispersing the crowd, made her way over to the plush, green, leather chair by the fire that was currently being occupied by Colin. Upon seeing her, he quickly stood up, and a look of nervousness passed fleetingly through his shady eyes.

"Colin, is there something you wish to tell me?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice. He blinked. Before he could begin to apologize though, Kendra, finally getting through the already dividing throng of people, came quickly to Colin's defense.

"Oh, come on Gin, you know you liked all that attention as much as Colin did." She said pleadingly. Ginny simply raised her eyebrows but let it slide, not even in the mood for another spat. Colin let out a breath of relief.

"Right, so are you two lovely ladies ready to make our way to the Great Hall?" he said, taking both of their hands and kissing each one in turn. The girls giggled, but gladly accepted, as the three linked arms, gathering envious stares from the jealous girls around them.

"So," he continued casually, "how was your day Kendra." The girl in question seemed to ponder this question before answering.

"Worst day of my life," She said simply. Colin and Ginny shared surprised stares. "I didn't have you two to keep me laughing, and it's absolutely horrid that I missed that show in the corridor! I've been waiting for years to give Zabini and Malfoy a piece of my mind" she said frowning. Colin chuckled, somewhat relieved, and soothed her.

"No worries, I hardly even moved a finger. The rabid canine over there, whom we happen to call our friend, took care of it all. I say, we could start advertising her and make a downright profit!" he cried, winking out of the corner of his eye at Kendra.

"Rabid canine?" Kendra questioned. Colin then quickly explained that Ginny had bitten Malfoy, while Ginny rolled her eyes remembering just why she'd bitten him. He'd pulled her hair out of her ponytail and taken a wand to it, surely prepared to chop it off with a simple cutting charm.

"That's right!" Kendra continued for Colin. "We could say, 'Got an enemy, well we've got a remedy!" she said, taking on an announcer's deep voice. Colin laughed.

"Good, and then we'll say, 'When things get rough, we've got someone tough! It's Ginny the canine!" he finished. Kendra and Colin were now practically rolling with laughter and Ginny flushed at the curious glances around her.

"Shush you two! You've already given me enough attention to put me in the Daily Prophet!" Ginny cried, throwing a rude gesture and a glare to a group of second years pointing and laughing at her.

"Gin!" her two friends both admonished. She turned and gave them an innocent grin.

"Follow my lead." he muttered under his breath to Kendra as they entered the Great Hall. She nodded, and he moved so that Ginny was now in the middle of them. "Everybody, can I have your attention please?" he called loudly, accumulating the Hall's notice. "Kendra and I have an advertisement we'd like to share with you." He said grinning, and looked at Kendra cuing her to say something.

Ginny's jaw dropped in shock and her face quickly flushed as she realized what they were planning on doing. Their grip on her arms tightened as she struggled to get free.

"I'm sure you all heard about what happened today." Kendra carried on, glancing between Ginny and the Slytherin table. This collected a few cheers for Ginny, most from Gryffindor, but also a few glares, generally from the Slytherins.

"For those of you who didn't know, though, Ginny has a side job." Kendra said grinning from ear to ear now. Colin, taking her lead, then deepened his voice to that of an announcer and shouted,

"Have you got an enemy? Well then, my associate Kendra and I have got a remedy!" Ginny once again struggled to get away from the two as people started laughing, and others put down their food and looked on curiously.

"When things get rough, we've got someone tough!" Kendra cried out, gesturing wildly toward Ginny, who was now trying to run, but still being restrained. She glanced around and noticed people gawking. Colin and Kendra then looked at each other, seemingly agreeing on something before belting out,

"It's Ginny, the rabid canine!" They finished now getting down to their knees, with arms wide and looked at Ginny with mock respect. The whole hall roared with laughter, and Ginny, besides being embarrassed, couldn't help but laugh a little herself as they finally sat down for dinner.

'This is going to be one long year.' She decided sighing, not knowing whether that was a good thing or not. One thing she knew for sure, though, was that along as she had Kendra and Colin in her life, it was obvious that there wasn't going to be one dull moment.

xXxXx

A/N: So sorry it took me this long to get this out! Overall, I really like this chapter. I know it has a lot going on, but I didn't pre-write this, it just came out as I started typing. A big thank you to all those who reviewed! You really encouraged me to get this next chapter out there. This chapter, along with the last two, is not beta-ed.

Charming Vision: Thanks for the compliments! I hope you feel the same about this chapter.

Alexandra J. Malfoy: Funky huh? Haha thanks! I'm glad you love it.

Fleury: Here you go! Haha, even though it took me a while, I did have some fun writing this.

Jade Summers: You've been with me from the beginning, and I am glad you stuck around! It's no problem. I don't care when you review, as long as you do review whether you like the chapter or not, you know? Hope you didn't hit your head too hard. It would be a shame if you couldn't read this. Haha, thanks again. Btw, I tried sending you an email and I never got a response…

Amy Martin: I know you didn't review for this chapter, but the email I found under your name was incorrect, so I couldn't send you anything.

Feel free to drop a review!


	4. Chapter Three

A/N: Sorry to keep you all waiting! I've only got ideas and I don't really get them down until a couple weeks or so before I post the next chapter. Thanks to all my reviewers! It means a lot to me to know that people have been enjoying this story so far.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Now, on with the story!

Forgotten

**Chapter Three**:

xXxXx

"You're sure you don't want me to go with you? I wouldn't put it past Filch to punish you using some of his old methods, after how close he was to getting Fred and George last year." Colin asked worriedly as the three friends walked down the darkened hallways, passing a random, flickering torch now and then.

"Colin, it's only about the fifth time you've asked her, and the third that you've mentioned Fred and George!" Kendra cried, exasperated, scuffing her shoes on the small, unnoticed crevices in the old floor. "I'm pretty sure her answer is still the same as it was five minutes ago. Besides, you already convinced her to let us practically chaperone her to his office."

"Well, you can never be too careful, especially these days. Plus, Ron would wring my neck if I let anything happen to you, Gin." He answered defensively, glancing suspiciously at the passing shadows of the sleepwalking ghosts.

Ginny rolled her eyes at the mention of her brother. He was none too happy when he found out about her second detention she was to serve tomorrow with Snape. Neither was Ginny, for that matter either, but at least he'd controlled his temper a bit and only warned her that she was dangling dangerously close to crossing the line, and that next time, he'd tell their mum. Harry had simply clapped her on the back, laughing, and congratulated her like the rest of Gryffindor.

She smiled slightly as she remembered her last conversation with Hermione, who had, unsurprisingly, also heard about the newest detention as well, and had been standing with Ron and Harry when the confrontation took place.

"_Ginny, you practically assaulted Malfoy and Zabini! I'm not saying they didn't deserve it or anything, but you could have easily gotten expelled!" Hermione berated._

"_Fine, I'll never do it again." Ginny answered resignedly._

"_Yes you will! I don't believe that for a second!" Hermione cried._

"_All the more reason this debate is pointless then!" Ginny had answered quickly with a grin._

She felt herself smirk, recalling Hermione's startled expression. As they neared the caretaker's office, which was just down one more staircase, she quickly checked herself. She wouldn't want to give him a head start on insults about her clothes.

"Gin," Kendra said, noticing her slightly slowed pace, "what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing really, I just don't really feel up to listening to Filch's invectives tonight." She answered with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Colin questioned, looking down the staircase anxiously. Filch always had a way of sneaking up on you when you least expected it. He saw nothing except the glaring torches, illuminating the closed door to his office.

"'My, my, someone's clothes are looking a bit worn out, hmm? Pity you can't afford new ones,'" Ginny said, mimicking Filch's raspy voice. "I swear he's as bad as Malfoy sometimes!" she complained. Kendra laughed and took Colin's arm, looking at his muggle wristwatch.

"Well, Gin, I think you're going to be late if you don't get a move on." She said, as she and Colin looped arms and headed in the other direction. Ginny looked longingly at them as she thought about the warm Gryffindor fire, and the big, comfy chairs surrounding it.

Finally, she made her way down the steps and walked the short distance to the door. Deciding she didn't want to get in trouble for being a couple seconds late, she quickly knocked and waited.

"Well, well, well. Ms. Weasley, pleasure to have you joining us." Filch welcomed. Ginny's eyes quickly scanned the room and noticed Mrs. Norris sitting on top of Filch's desk. Her yellow eyes seemed to look right through Ginny, making her feel a little self-conscience. She brushed that feeling aside; after all, Mrs. Norris was only a cat…right?

Looking past the cat, she noticed that Filch's office seemed particularly bleak that night. The floor was made of the same stone engraved in the walls, which always seemed bare in Ginny's mind, for it had no pictures or decorations whatsoever. It was at small moments like this, where she felt the slightest bit of pity for the man.

Of course, he usually ruined her mood with insults. Narrowing her eyes, she turned and looked determinedly at Filch, assured she could take anything he made her do.

"Your task tonight, Weasley, is quite simple. You're to polish the trophies." He said, pointing in the direction of the Trophy Room. Ginny grinned; she had done this plenty of occasions before and knew she could finish quickly enough, giving her the extra time needed to finish her Transfiguration homework.

"I'll have you know," Filch continued, upon seeing her smile, "that if it were up to me, you'd be making good use of my old chains." He said warningly, gesturing toward the infamous shackles hanging from the low ceiling.

Ginny's grin quickly turned to a serious look, surmising not to take her chances. She quickly strode to the Trophy Room and closed the door lightly behind her.

"Oh, bloody hell!" she cursed, upon seeing the mounds of trophies that greeted her site.

"Just got a new shipment in, seems we've missed a couple of awards over the last three years. Dumbledore just ordered those last week. You can thank Potter for at least half of those." Filch called through the door, laughing gleefully as she continued to curse.

'So much for finishing the Transfiguration homework,' she thought ruefully.

xXxXx

Colin awoke the next morning quite early, and as he opened his bed hangings and looked out the window, he could see the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. The orange and yellow hues contrasted greatly with the dark blue sky, as dusk slowly faded to morning. The lake glistened in anticipation for the day ahead, as the dew on the grass twinkled in the rising light.

'Be a great use of film,' he thought absently and put his feet on the plush, carpeted floor. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he stood and stretched before turning and going down to the Common Room. He made sure to close the door noiselessly, not wanting to wake his roommates, as Ginny often did when she woke up.

He and Kendra had gone for a walk around the lake after dropping Ginny off the night before. It'd been a while since they had talked and they clearly needed to catch up on each other's love lives. At least, that's what Kendra had stated to him as they had taken off their socks and shoes and planted their footprints in the cold sandbank by the lake.

Over the past years of knowing Ginny and Kendra, he became quite attached to the both of them. With Ginny, he could always count on a laugh, and completely sarcastic remarks. She was also very considerate of others.

Whereas with Kendra, Colin could be assured his secrets were safe with her. She was, furthermore, very observant and seemed to always know when something was wrong. The two had spent so much time chatting the previous night, that when they had gotten back, the Common room had been empty.

"Everything alright?" Colin had questioned Kendra softly, as she had quieted down somewhat since they entered the warm room. She had shuffled her feet slightly and looked down at her shoes once, seemingly pondering whether she should tell him something. Knowing his reputation for blurting out secrets, he could understand if she wasn't sure whether she wanted to tell.

"Come on, Ken," Colin had said, using the old nickname that always made her smile because of the manly reference the often came with the name. "You can trust me." She looked up thoughtfully,

"The problem is," she said, in thoughtful tone, "If I can't trust you, then I can't trust your statement that I can trust you. But thanks, you've been a big help!" she had finished with a mischievous grin before quickly going up to her dormitory.

Colin shook his head and smiled at the memory. She was acting so odd lately. He looked up sharply as he heard a noise. Without paying attention, he had unintentionally walked down the steps into the Common Room and to the center of the room.

Peering around the room, he looked toward the area the sound had originated from. To his surprise, he saw a mass of red curls occupying a desk, while a familiar female body lay hunched over books. Ginny was currently sleeping on top of her homework. Laughing, he walked over and gently prodded her awake.

"Ginny, dear," he said in a sickly sweet voice, "time to wake up!" He got a grumbled reply in response. He lowered his head to her ear, and whispered something he was quite sure would wake her up.

"What?" she squawked, jumping up and nearly colliding with Colin's body, "I've missed the Quidditch game? You've got to be kidding me!" Her wide, amber eyes took in the red and gold surroundings before finally noticing Colin, who was standing to the side chuckling. "Colin!" she cried tiredly, her voice cracking.

"Honestly, Gin, it works every time!" he replied still snickering. She was about to reply with, no doubt, a sarcastic remark to put him in his place, when he noticed her looking past him with a slightly strained grin.

"What works every time?" Kendra questioned, while yawning. Colin turned and took in her roused appearance. She was, like Colin, in her sleeping wear. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail that had fallen out sometime during the night. The yellow, plaid, cotton pants she wore were rolled twice, but still managed to cover her feet entirely, while her slightly wrinkled white tank-top had risen, showing a bit of her stomach. Acknowledging his stare, Ginny nudged him lightly in the ribs. He grinned at her, before turning back to Kendra.

"Good morning, Ken!" he said brightly. She laughed slightly before yawing once again.

"It's practically the crack of dawn, Colin! Hardly a good thing." she huffed. "I only came down to wake up Ginny."

"Luckily for you, Colin found me first." Ginny answered, giving Colin a half-hearted glare. He simply smirked. "What?" she asked, frowning as he continued to smirk, "Something funny?" Kendra was now trying to muffle her laughter, but failed horribly as she let out a snort.

"You've got a bit of ink smudged on your face." Kendra supplied after a composing herself.

"Yes," added Colin, "I think it says something along the lines of, 'The transfiguration of a feather into a chair…' backwards." He said beaming at her. Ginny blushed slightly.

"Well, you don't look so hot yourself, Mister Creevy." She replied, gesturing at his hair, which was sticking out at odd angles. "And you," she continued, now talking to Kendra, "you might want to fix your shirt. Colin's been getting an eyeful." Kendra rolled her eyes and walked over to Ginny but fixed her shirt, embarrassed, and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to the staircase.

"We'll just go along and get dressed." She explained briefly to Colin.

"Right, just call if you need any help!" he offered jokingly, before sitting down to read over Ginny's essay, correcting the mistakes every now and then. The two girls hurried up the steps, giggling as they went. As they entered their dormitory, Kendra reached behind her to quietly close the door. Ginny beat her to it, though, and purposely slammed it shut with an evil smile.

"Gods, Gin, just a couple more minutes!" came some of the muffled replies of the other three girls in the room.

"Not a chance, ladies!" Ginny answered loudly, before getting attacked by thrown pillows. Kendra snorted very un-lady like before joining in the pillow fight as well. When all the girls were thoroughly awake, and the battle of feathers ended, they each slowly stood up and proceeded to get ready. After both Ginny and Kendra had showered, gotten dressed, and put on a touch of muggle makeup they found in their roommate Claire's trunk, they quickly went to the Common Room.

The two girls were both sporting their equally long hair in a braid. The little makeup they had on was also matched to perfection except the eye shadow. Ginny's was a honey-brown color, to match her eyes. Kendra's was an ocean-blue to match her eyes as well.

Upon entering the Common Room, they were greeted with the loud noise of students bustling about. Some were scurrying to finish up their last minute Potion's homework, like Ron. Others dashed about the room, in an almost frantic way, searching for their missing belongings, like Neville and Hermione, who were searching for Crookshanks. Still, though, others had found enough spare time to play just _one_ last game of Exploding Snap, as was the case for Colin, Harry, Dean and Seamus.

Harry had just made a move that nearly caused his eyebrows to singe off. Colin evidently found this uproariously funny, and had fallen out of his chair, with Seamus not far behind him. Ginny laughed and started forward, intending on ending the game before the boys melted all of their hair off, when Kendra stopped her. Ginny turned and saw an apprehensive expression on her friend's face.

"Gin," she commenced, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you. If I don't tell you now, then I'll just burst!" Ginny was slightly worried, but at the same time excited about hearing a secret. It'd been a while since they shared gossip that was this important. She nodded her head, hinting at Kendra to continue. Kendra answered in silence.

"Just tell me, Kendra. You know I won't tell." Ginny begged. "Unless you ask me to that is." She added, giving her a wink.

"I like Colin!" Kendra blurted out. Ginny smiled, and hugged her friend excitedly.

"That's brilliant! Have you told him yet?" she questioned.

"You mean you're not terribly upset?" Kendra asked, shocked at Ginny's reaction.

"What on earth do you mean? Of course I'm not upset! Why would I be?" Ginny asked, slightly incredulous.

"Well, practically all of Gryffindor thinks you're mad about him. Then again, I did hear that from Lavender…" she trailed off, and looked hopefully at Ginny. Ginny gave her an encouraging smile and a little shove in Colin's direction. He and Harry had hurriedly finished their game, with Dean and Seamus already leaving, as the people in the Common Room had quickly dispersed for breakfast.

"Oh, go on, you! I'll just meet you two in the Great Hall. I need to go upstairs and get my books together and organized anyway." Ginny said lightly, with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Kendra laughed and quickly walked over to Colin, who was about to come and get them, and whispered the usually dreaded words,

"We need to talk." Fortunately, this was going to be good news for Colin, though at the moment he looked slightly worried. The two looped arms and headed out of the portrait hole. Ginny took her time gathering her books, making sure to move slowly, for she was positive it would be some time before Kendra eventually did tell Colin what exactly was on her mind.

Finally, with only 15 minutes of breakfast left, Ginny figured that enough time had passed, and proceeded to make her way to the Great Hall. Upon leaving the Gryffindor Common Room, though, she found the hallways to be eerily quiet, opposed to the normal loud and boisterous atmosphere. She tightened her arms around her books and hurried down the hall. A shiver passed down her spine, and she felt as if someone was following her. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she saw that no one was there, but this did nothing to relieve her thoughts.

After about five minutes of repeatedly glancing behind her, she quickly dug her hand into her pocket and grasped for her wand. Her fingers were only met with the thin fabric of her robe. Something coursed through her veins, and she couldn't quite place the feeling. A second later, a single word flashed through her mind; _fear._

"Looking for this?" an unfamiliar voice called. Ginny quickly turned and saw a tall, skinny girl, who had transferred from Durmstrang that year, holding her wand in a lazy fashion with her pale fingers. When she had been sorted, the hat had barely grazed over her raven hair before declaring the girl's new house, Slytherin. Thinking briefly, Ginny remembered her name. Tanith, which Kendra had quickly rooted back to meaning, Serpent Lady.

"Actually, no, that's not mine." Ginny answered, deciding that feigning ignorance would be the best tactic. Apparently she wasn't the best actress.

"Please, you're a horrible liar." Another voice scoffed upon entering her peripheral vision. It was the all too well known bodyguard of Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle. Pansy Parkinson then appeared next to Tanith, before walking the short distance to where Ginny stood.

"My, she has quite pretty hair, doesn't she Blaise?" Pansy said in a light tone. Ginny felt someone breathing on her neck and quickly whipped around to find the boy in question.

'Hardly a boy,' Ginny thought, seeing that he towered over her by a good six inches, but also proudly noting that he sported a small bruise above his eyebrow from where she had hit him.

"Yes," he agreed, glancing at Pansy. "She's always worn it long, though, hasn't she?" he questioned casually, his eyes flicking back to Ginny briefly. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Pity she won't be able to keep it." A new, but familiar voice said in mock-grievance. Ginny pivoted hastily to see Draco Malfoy staring at her with an impassive look on his face. Small scratch marks could just barely be seen from grating his face against the stone wall when she had pinned him. It was then that Ginny realized they had her trapped. She was in the middle of a circle of Slytherins, and she could only guess that they weren't there for some morning tea.

"Sod off, Malfoy!" she snarled, balling her hands into fists.

"I wouldn't talk to him like that, if I were you." Tanith warned in a sing-song voice, looking absently at her nails. Gregory, Blaise and Pansy chuckled darkly, while Draco merely smirked.

"Greg," Blaise started, "would you mind giving me a hand here?" he asked while reaching for Ginny. She quickly shoved him away from her and turned to run before being grabbed roughly from behind by Goyle around her waist.

"Get your hands off me, you wanker!" she shrieked, her arms and legs flailing, trying in vain to hit him. He simply laughed, his massive body trembling, and moved her so that she ended up facing Draco. With all the energy she could muster, Ginny attempted to kick him. Draco moved swiftly out of the way, though, resounding in Ginny hitting the stone wall rather hard. She cursed loudly as pain shot through her toes to her foot.

"Pansy, Tanith, would you two be a dear and kindly help take Weasley's hair out of that lovely braid." Draco asked, laughing at her continued efforts to free herself from Goyle's strong grip. The two girls responded immediately and pulled Ginny's hair loose from her hair tie.

"For a Gryffindor, she's got good taste." Pansy muttered, pocketing the ribbon.

"If you touch my hair, I swear-" Ginny started.

"You'll what, Weasley? I hardly think this is the time to be making idle threats." Blaise said calmly, gesturing at her current position. "Now then, Tanith, would you hand over her wand?" Surely they weren't about to let her go?

"Don't' get your hopes up, weasel. I'm only here to finish what _you_ started." Draco stated upon seeing her hopeful expression. He quickly took the wand from Blaise's outstretched hand and brought it up to his face for further inspection. "Ah, yes, hair of a unicorn." He muttered, before twirling it in his fingers.

"Tanith, Pansy, go keep watch around the corner. Anyone heads this way, give a shout." Ordered Blaise, and then ran his hand through Ginny's tangled locks. "Much too long, wouldn't you agree Greg?" Ginny felt Goyle nod, and heard his chuckle.

"I'd say Weasley here could use a haircut." He suggested, looking towards Malfoy, who nodded in agreement.

"I'd be happy to help." He smirked.

"I swear I'll scream bloody murder." Ginny threatened darkly, though her voice trembled. From fear or anger, Malfoy wasn't sure. A cloud hovered over the sun outside briefly, and the light from the hallway became dimmer, seemingly casting a shadow over the four. Blaise's grip tightened around her hair, and her head was pulled in his direction.

Ginny opened her mouth to scream, only to be silenced with a swish of her wand, which was still in Malfoy's hand. Tears threatened to spill over as he brought the weapon closer and closer to her hair until it was touching. She bravely blinked them back and looked determinedly up at Malfoy. For a second, she could have sworn she saw guilt flare in his eyes, but dismissed the thought, for, as soon as she had seen it, it was gone. Leaning forward, he brought his mouth to her ear.

"You touch me, or Blaise, or _any_ Slytherin ever again, and I'll chop it all off. Not one word of this to anyone, understand?" He threatened in a whisper, before gently placing the wand in her pocket, turning and walking away. "Come on, Goyle, let her go. We're about to miss breakfast." With that, Ginny was promptly dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

"But Draco-" Blaise started confused, but was silenced with a glare from him. With one last seemingly apologetic look, Malfoy departed.

Ginny let out a breath of relief she hadn't realized she had been holding. Blaise finally followed, giving her a smirk that chilled her to the bone. As they left, Ginny settled herself before finally going to the Great Hall. Wait till Colin and Kendra heard about this!

xXxXx

A/N: Wow! That was one suspenseful chapter, and rather long too. Hope everyone likes it! Thanks so much for reading this much of my story, haha. Look on my profile for previews. I'm trying to keep all my A/Ns short from now on, so here's my response to the fantastic reviewers!

Fleury : Thanks! I quite liked the advertisement as well.

Jade Summers : Thank you anyway, but I've already convinced one of my friends to beta for me. Ah, yes, the pains of having siblings. I've got two older ones : shudders : haha, but I hope this wasn't too long of a wait for you. I try to update once a month, around the same time. Glad you like the Rabid Canine idea!

The Unknown Weasley : I hope this one was also worth the wait. I understand that Draco has been quite cruel so far, but I'm trying to stick to his character. Though you will find that he has reason for the way he is…uh-oh! Foreshadow!

.spitxfire. : I know really! The way he acts in J.K. Rowling's books just makes me want to hit him upside the head, but thank God Ginny finally did something! This was a slightly darker chapter, but don't you worry, things will brighten up again.

Come on, you all know you're dying to review!

Just one click of a button, simple as that!

Sunflour


	5. Chapter Four

A/N: Good news! School lets out pretty soon, so as soon as that's over and done with, I'll be able to update a lot quicker. Probably every one to two weeks instead of just once a month. Alright, because of the many exams my friend and I have taken (and still have to take for that matter) recently, I apologize in advance for any errors!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Four:**

xXxXx

"And he just let you go?" Kendra cried, aghast at what had occurred on Ginny's trip to the Great Hall.

"You know, I heard he shaves his chest." Colin said thoughtfully. Kendra and Ginny laughed loudly in response, causing other envious girls to glare, before Ginny casually dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"Anyway, what did I miss? Anything…interesting happen on your way to breakfast?" she asked suggestively, glancing between the two sitting across from her. Colin looked astonished.

"How did _you _know I was going to ask her to Hogsmeade?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

Ginny blanched, shooting a startled look at Kendra, before averting her attention back to Colin. "Well…um-" A look of realization crossed Colin's face, not going unnoticed by Kendra, whose eyes widened and cheeks flushed a light roseate color.

"It was Seamus and Dean, wasn't it? They did mention they would get back at me for sharing the secret about their, shall we say, ritual rendezvous in the Room of Requirement with a couple of Hufflepuffs." He said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Ginny laughed, quickly agreeing that that was indeed what had transpired as Kendra relaxed and moved closer to Colin, and picked up a glass of pumpkin juice. He, in turn, casually draped his arm around her looking content with the situation.

"So Gin," Kendra began, glancing down the Gryffindor table and noticing quite a void in the seats. "Is there a Quidditch meeting this morning or something?" Ginny promptly dropped her knife she had been about to use to butter some toast, generating a loud clatter, and jumped out of the bench.

Muttering swift apologies, she collected her scrolls, stuffed them back into her bag, and rushed to the doors. Right as she was about to pull the door open with her free hand, though, she was stopped by the silky, yet disquieting voice of Professor Snape.

"Miss Weasley," he started, sneering disdainfully at her, his black eyes flicking over worn robes and tattered, brown bag, "You are aware that you're to serve your second detention tonight before dinner?" he questioned lethargically. Ginny restrained herself from rolling her eyes, and instead plastered a small, but polite smile on her face as acknowledgment.

"Yes, I am _quite_ aware. I believe you've sent three people over the last 24 hours to, _remind _me. Sir," She added quickly.

"I see you're as galvanized about that as I am then." He said sarcastically, dusting invisible lent off his robes. "Good, that is all. You're free to continue contaminating the hallways with your presence." He concluded with a tenuous smirk, his eyes daring her to retort.

Ginny opened her mouth to respond, but quickly snapped it shut. It was obvious he was trying to provoke her, probably just dying to succeed in giving her _another_ detention. She'd already received five from him, that one term alone.

It was also known to most of the school, and probably the staff for that matter if news traveled as fast as it seemed to in Hogwarts, that if Ginny got just one more internment, she would be suspended from her House team as chaser. So basically, it was stubborn pride that kept her from openly defying her Potions Professor. Instead she pursed her lips, nodded a farewell, and hurriedly walked out to the pitch, silently fuming.

It seemed Harry had just about finished up his lecture, being elected Gryffindor Captain, about the importance of showing up for practices. Upon Ginny's arrival, he sighed, somewhat annoyed, before briefly running through what had been said in her absence. She quickly processed all the information, and mumbled an excuse about being caught in the traffic of the hallways. The rest of the team chuckled, not believing her explanation for a second, before continuing to listen to Harry.

"Just remember, everyone, the Quidditch match starts tomorrow, directly after breakfast. Which means; I expect you lot to have woken up and eaten earlier than your usual pace. Meet me at the field an hour before the match. I'd like to get in a half hour of drilling, just so we're all up to speed on the new plays." He finished loudly, his voice one of authority, before stepping aside and making his way over to Ginny, addressing a few people along the way.

"Sorry about being late, Harry, I know you hate unpunctuality just as much as I do when it comes to Quidditch-" she began hastily, expecting him to chastise her.

"Ginny," he said quickly, holding up his hands as if fending off an attack. "I just needed some advice about something." He muttered uncomfortably, shaking his unruly hair out of his emerald-green eyes. She smiled fondly remember that he never was good at expressing his concerns, whether it be about Voldemort's latest tactic at killing him, or his newest girlfriend. His current conquest was a petite brunette from Ravenclaw. She had a dexterous reputation of going through guys quicker than Hermione could read books.

"Right," he began after discreetly making sure no one else could hear the two. Years of being hounded by Rita Skeeter had eventually paid off. "So, you know Cherry?" he questioned, referring to the underhanded Ravenclaw. Ginny nodded, urging him to get on with it as he struggled to form words.

"Well, I've asked her to go to Hogsmeade with me. Problem is she told me she's got plans already with her friends, some of whom I know are guys she's dated before. Does this mean that she doesn't want to go with me, or do you think she really does have other things to do?" He asked meekly.

The two had been verbalizing their relationship troubles since Harry's fifth year summer, when both had been brooding. Harry, grieving about Sirius' death, had given Ginny the chance to help and kept her mind off of her recent break-up with Dean Thomas. She assisted in bringing him back to his old good-natured self, when many thought he would never be the same. He, in turn, offered to help her with her problems, should she ever need it, thus forming a friendly bond between the two.

Ginny, not wanting to crush his self-esteem, answered quickly. "Oh, well now, don't get ahead of yourself here! I mean you've only been seeing her for what, a week and a half now? She wouldn't have moved on to another guy quite so soon." She assured him, although she knew for a fact that Cherry, being who she was, had probably done exactly that. "I'm _sure _she's got errands to run, as do I. But Harry, can you honestly say you like this girl?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure I can answer that." He answered after a moment's thought, absently rubbing his scar, as he often did when troubled. "But, the way she makes me feel when we kiss…like I'm the only one who matters to her. And- it's almost like I'm not 'Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived' that she's kissing, but just a regular bloke, you know, as cliché as that sounds." he said, in a feeble attempt to express his feelings.

'Best to end this one quick, then,' Ginny thought with a sigh. He said this about all the girls he dated. Including Hermione, before she and Ron had finally seen the obvious and got together.

"Oh, I can't keep this hushed up anymore!" she commenced dramatically. "I guess being around Colin this long had to have _some _kind of effect on me. Right, so, you know when I was out that one night past curfew?" Harry nodded, a grim expression on his face.

"Which time?" He muttered under his breath. Ginny ignored him and continued.

"Well, I wasn't the only one. I was going past the Room of Requirement and I heard…noises." She clasped her hands, trying to force herself to look uncomfortable. "Naturally, being the nosy person I am, I went in." Harry's breath hitched, knowing that he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear.

"You saw her didn't you, and with that Adam bloke, right?" he asked apprehensively. Ginny looked away, not wanting to see the brief pain flash through his eyes.

"Harry, I only told you because I don't want to see you getting hurt by revealing your feelings to this girl, if any. If she catches on that she means more than just a good shag to you, then she'll just string you along all year. Plus, being named after a fruit like Cherry is never good karma, love." She said. The story was somewhat the truth, though it hadn't been her who had found Cherry. She had been walking in the hallways with Colin, planning on sitting out by the lake with him, when they had overheard two second year Slytherins gossiping about it.

The wind picked up around them and Ginny shivered. Harry, noticing this, quickly took off his cloak and began to lead her back inside. They walked in tense silence for a few moments before he finally said something as they reached the doors.

"Thanks, Gin." He walked off then, seeing Cherry leaving the Great Hall in the throng of people on their way to the first class of the day. He glanced over at Ginny, smiled quickly, and hurried over to the Ravenclaw. Ginny smirked and looked around for Colin and Kendra. Upon seeing them, she waved them over and together the three made their way to class.

xXxXx

A few hours later found Ginny in a very compromising position. She was currently being restrained by four sixth year Gryffindor guys. The boys were equally very strong, two of them being on the Quidditch team as beaters, one other as a chaser, and the last being Colin, who preferred to exercise regularly to keep in shape. Oddly enough, they could just barely manage to hold Ginny back from attacking Blaise Zabini once more.

"Come on Ginny, he's not worth it!" Kendra pleaded desperately, worried lines etched into her forehead. "Honestly, you know anything that comes out of his foul mouth is only said hurt others because he's trying to compensate for things he doesn't have!" she declared loudly, purposely looking over her shoulder at the aforementioned Slytherin and giving him a once over with cold eyes. He merely smirked and gave a mock bow, though rage flared in great contrast to his ash-colored eyes.

"But you heard what he said about Charlie!" Ginny cried still recklessly trying to free herself.

"Think about it Gin," Colin began, rubbing small circles on her back trying to calm her obviously frayed nerves. "The match tomorrow is against Slytherin, and two of their chasers are sick, so they have reserves covering most of their team. Knowing that losing to Gryffindor, _again_," he said this part loudly, "would absolutely _crush_ their already damaged reputations as athletes, they probably thought taking out a valuable player would benefit to them."

"What do you mean? I thought he only verbally attacked her, not physically." The chaser with brown hair holding her back questioned, narrowly missing Ginny's fist as other Slytherins gathered and laughed at her current state.

"He knew that if he mentioned her brother, she would hit him, or try to at least. You did hear, of course, that if she gets one more detention that she'll be suspended from the House team?" Kendra explained, as Colin continued talking quietly to Ginny.

Whatever he said seemed to have steadied her, as she slowly went limp and stopped her struggle. The Gryffindor boys seemed reluctant to release her, but eventually let go seeing she was once again composed. The only evidence of her struggle being that her once smooth, pulled back hair was now in disarray.

"Budge up, mates." Colin muttered under his breath. "McGonagall's coming round the corner. She takes one look at Ginny and she'll dock points faster than Neville can lose his toad. We can't afford more tension before tomorrow morning." Immediately, a small circle was formed around Ginny, leaving only enough space for Kendra to squeeze through and keep her calm.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" she asked, breaking through the ring of spectators that had assembled.

"Not a thing, Professor, just one of our usual verbal spats before an oncoming Quidditch game." One of the beaters supplied. "All the excitements over now, though. You missed a good one."

"Well," Professor McGonagall started, obviously displeased. "I'm assuming no one was injured? No spells cast?" she questioned, quickly surveying the surrounding area with a critical eye. The Gryffindors unconsciously shuffled closer around Ginny.

"Right, well if that's all, everybody, back to your Common Rooms this instant. I do believe dinner will be served shortly, and Miss Weasley, aren't you due for your detention tonight with Professor Snape?" The crowd dispersed hurriedly, leaving only Kendra, Colin, and Ginny.

"You alright, Gin?" Colin asked passively. He had not heard what Blaise had said to her, but was only aware that it was about Charlie. If it had caused that much of a reaction out of her, it couldn't be good. Slowly, they made their way to the dungeons. Ginny furiously wiped away the stray tear that had fallen.

"He-he said that-Charlie," her voice trembled as she spoke, but nevertheless, she cleared her throat and continued. "He said, 'It gave me pleasure to be able to hear your brother's pathetic pleas for help as he screamed in agony during his torture. It was a joy seeing him die.'" Colin gasped, and shook his head, pulling Ginny closer to him and lightly kissing her forehead.

During the summer, right before the start of Ginny's sixth year at Hogwarts, there had been an attack on her home. No one was supposed to have been there. The Weasley's had decided to throw together a surprise birthday party for Harry and had left together to go pick him up. Bill, Charlie, Fred and George had taken the night off of work and flooed over only hours before. Percy couldn't come because his wife, Penelope, was pregnant and he felt guilty about leaving her alone, as she wasn't permitted to floo on her third trimester.

Things had gone right on schedule. Harry was having a great time opening presents when Charlie realized he had forgotten his at home. He had pulled Ginny aside, asking her to cover for him if anyone asked where he was, and she agreed. Unfortunately, when Charlie returned to the Burrow, he interrupted a Death Eater ambush. Ginny remembered that while he was suffering, being tortured to no end, she had been laughing, explaining to others that Charlie was fine, and that he was probably just sneaking some cake.

If only she'd have told them he was at home, maybe things would have been different. Ginny had gone over what could have occurred, knowing all the possibilities, a thousand times. She would tell her parents that Charlie had gone home, searching for a present. Her mum would then be reminded that she had left the cake in the kitchen during all the rush. The family gathered, and all but one present opened, they would decide to continue the party back at the Burrow. Upon arriving, they would stop the Death Eaters from killing Charlie, and things would go back to normal. To this day though, Ginny still saw Charlie's death as her fault.

"Well, we do seem to be making a habit out of this, eh?" Kendra laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "This is the second night in a row we've walked you to detention of all places!" Colin chuckled and Ginny threw Kendra a grateful look for interrupting the uncomfortable silence.

"And if you had arrived any later, you could have added a third." An irritated voice called. They looked over to seem Professor Snape standing luminously by his classroom door. The torches cast shadows on his face, causing Ginny to dread spending the next hour with him. As Colin started to explain, Snape rolled his eyes.

"Oh hush up, Creevy, and you, Miss Bentley, shouldn't you be at dinner?" he asked Kendra, exasperation evident in his tone. The three students shared one last look before Colin grabbed Kendra by the elbow and quickly led her to the Great Hall.

"Sorry Professor," Ginny mumbled weakly, walking past him and entering the gloomy classroom. The stone walls and floors seemed particularly dank that night, and Ginny prayed she wouldn't have to scrub the floors.

"Save it, Weasley, and hand over your wand." Snape interrupted, brushing past her and making his way over to his desk. "I heard about what happened." He said after she had placed her wand on his desk, eyeing it with longing. Ginny only responded with a confused look.

"If you're going to continue to be the Slytherins latest target, it'd be wise for you to learn to keep your guard up. They feed on emotions and outbursts like the ones you've displayed." Ginny was shell-shocked. Was Professor Snape actually offering her advice?

"Uh…yes, sir." She answered hesitantly. He nodded and continued grading papers.

"You are to label the bottles kept in the supply cabinet to your left." He ordered, not looking us. She quickly walked over to the closet and began, her grumbling stomach reminding her that working slowly was not the smartest choice if she wanted to get to dinner on time.

The minutes seemed to pass at an agonizing slow pace, the only sound being the scratching of Snape's quill, and the odd clink of glass from Ginny every now and then. She jumped as she heard the dungeon door creak open, bringing light into the purposely shadowed room. Turning her head, she saw Malfoy enter. He gave no impression that he had seen her yet.

"Professor, may I have a word?" he asked in a neutral tone.

Snape, still not looking up from his papers, waved his wand and conjured a straight back, cushioned chair. "Miss Weasley, would you step outside for a moment?"

"Why?" she questioned dumbly, putting down the container of dried leeches she had finished marking. Malfoy sneered, finally having noticed her presence, while Snape rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.

"Because you irritate me." He said aggravated. "Come to think of it, just leave. I can't read your slapdash handwriting as it is, and your punishment has been served. Do think on what you've learned."

"That I need an assistant to write for me?" she supplied cheekily, though she had the slightest of feelings that he meant their conversation before. Silence and blank stares greeted her obvious attempt at humor, so she quickly left the room, her face flaming.

She had barely made it halfway down the hallway when she remembered she had brought her shoulder bag along with her, and it was still in the supply closet. Her hand, poised to knock on the door, which had been rudely slammed shut promptly after her exit, froze. The door was not soundproof, and it seemed a Silencing Spell had not crossed her Professor or Malfoy's mind. She strained her ears to make sense of the mumbling.

"Mister Malfoy, I do not believe you are seeing the full consequences of such a choice." She heard Snape say. There was a moment of lulled quiet before Malfoy's voice was heard.

"I thought you said this would save my life." He said, his voice one of slight despair. She heard Snape chuckle, though there was clearly no mirth in his laughter.

"You must know that no matter what you choose, whether it be becoming a Death Eater, or disregarding your father's wishes completely, the end will only result in your death. Sooner or later, Voldemort will tire of your services and be done with you, as, I have no doubt, Lucius will do also." He said, his voice taking on a somber tone. She heard a chair scrape the floor and assumed Malfoy had stood up.

"So what, exactly, are you suggesting I do?" he yelled angrily. She once again heard the chair scraping the stone and could only guess that he had either sat back down or was rearranging the furniture. "Sorry," Malfoy muttered.

"Learn to control your emotions, Mister Malfoy. They'll only cause trouble for you in the end." Snape said calmly. "Nonetheless, I would not advise rejecting the Dark Mark."

"Are you suggesting that I should be a spy for the Light Side?" Malfoy questioned bluntly.

"I'm not _suggesting_ anything, Draco. Now, I do have other things to do, is there anything else you needed? Good, grab Weasley's bag on your way out." He finished.

Ginny's eyes widened, and she sprinted down the hallway and turned the corner. She counted to ten before turning and acting as if she had just come looking for her bag. She saw Malfoy heading in her direction and, upon seeing her he tossed the bag to her. Not expecting it, she watched voicelessly as it fell to the floor at her feet, her books falling out. She bent down to pick them up and was frustrated to see that Malfoy was not attempting to help her.

"How about a little help?" she complained, looking up at him. Amusement sparkled in his eyes, though his facial expression betrayed nothing.

"Chivalry is dead, love." He said with a short laugh before side-stepping her and leaving. Ginny bit back a growl of anger and quickly returned his comment.

"Well at least I don't shave my chest." She said snidely.

"What?" he barked, unsure he had heard her correctly.

"I said, you'd look nice in a sweater vest. It was a compliment." Ginny said with a smirk, hurriedly brushing past him, leaving him standing dumbfounded in the hallway.

xXxXx

A/N: Whoa, so many reviews! Thanks, all of you! I'll have the next one up around the first week of June, I promise.

Portia : Ginny's not in Azkaban. She hasn't been receiving food that often, thinking she was forgotten, but she did make a reference in the first chapter about Azkaban. Something about how they at least serve three meals a day, whereas she was only getting food on the rare occasion. Sorry to have confused you!

.spitxfire. : There's obviously a dark past that Draco has been trying to keep quiet. Tonight, some of it was revealed. His past has been affecting his thoughts and actions his whole life, this school year seemingly being no different…until Ginny eavesdropped on his conversation with Snape…oh my gosh! So I do have a plot somewhere in this story, who would've thought? Haha, I'll update soon, don't worry.

InsaneMonkeePirate : It's no problem, I understand if you've been busy, I have too, haha. If you're still interested, I'll start e-mailing you my chapters again. But I hope you don't mind that you'll be my second opinion, because I already promised my friend she could read the chapters in advance if she edited. If that's a problem, just let me know, and we'll figure something out.

Fleury : Yes, Ginny got her wand back. Oh and don't worry! I wouldn't dare let Malfoy cut off Ginny's hair! My mom's a redhead as well, and if she found out…well let's just say I wouldn't be updating quite as quickly.

TropicalTreat101: thanks!

Jade Summers: Your favorite word is unceremoniously? Huh, that's cool, haha. Good thing he didn't cut off her hair, I don't think I'd enjoy being shot. I'm sorry you miss your old locks, but you'll get used to the shorter ones. Just think of it this way, it won't take as long for you to get ready right?

Moony's number 1 : Aww, thanks! Haha, I feel honored that I was your first D/G fic! I'm guessing before you stuck to fics involving, hmmm, maybe a certain Professor Lupin?

Don't forget to review, I love hearing everybody's feedback!

Sunflour


	6. Chapter Five

A/N: Alright, my updates are going to start picking up at a faster pace. I want to get the majority of this done during the summer, because I know that once school starts up again for me, I'll have little extra time. So, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Five:**

xXxXx

The sun rose leisurely, its rays traveling over the hills and various forests surrounding Hogwarts with a faint glow. The creatures who, as usual, had chosen to roam over the lands throughout the night, apprehensively made their way back into the shadows. The darkness was, after all, their home, for it was all they had ever known.

The sunlight continued exploring, passing over the stone castle walls and creeping into the cracked panes of the ancient windows. Students from all houses slept soundly, their dreams untroubled for the most part. If one were to inquire further, though, past the fantasies of winning the House Cup, past the illusions of a time where there was no war, you would see the darkness that lingered in the backs of many students' minds. There was a surprisingly large number of adolescence who dreamt of the terrors they had experienced, or feared they soon would.

The one obvious of that number was a mere boy, Harry Potter. Though, he was hardly a boy. His traumas of the past were enough to leave even an adult trembling at the multitude of painful events he'd endured. He was, at the moment, one of the few awake in Gryffindor Tower. Many nights plagued with mild insomnia, he took to spending his time in the Common Room. Today, however, this was not the reason.

As he stared into the flickering flames of the dying fire, the reflection remained dim in his emerald-green eyes. His thoughts were innocent, but only slightly concerning. They were, primarily, focused on the upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin. He had wondered countless times if he had prepared his team well enough to play against, as rumors had it, the best team of the year. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the stumbling of people coming down the staircases. He smiled, an amused look on his face, as he studied his team.

There was Ron, the well-known keeper, who was currently trying to smooth down his hair which had become mussed in his sleep. He had improved immensely in comparison to his time playing in their fifth year. Amidst the chants about his talents, or lack there-of, Ron had immerged over the previous two years into a stronger player.

He was willing to take criticism, and wasn't afraid of being taunted for his mistakes. His skills had also developed, and he was now accurately named the next William Freeman, a famous Keeper for Puddlemore. Their hair color was even similar; Ron's being only slightly darker than the Quidditch star's.

Next, there was Seamus Finnegan, a chaser, and a fine one at that. Though he and Harry had fought during their fifth year, they seemed to have called a truce and only fought in friendly banter these days. From behind, the two were difficult to tell apart. The main difference being that Harry's hair was messier and that Seamus was quite a few inches shorter than his. Seamus' ability to fly, though, was considered impressive in the eyes of all.

Then there was Ginny, the second chaser, but also one of the best they had. After briefly filling in for Harry in her fourth year as seeker, she found that she was much better suited for the position of chaser and preceded in trying out the next year. The team captain of the Gryffindors at the time had stated that she was, "Without a doubt, the best I've seen thus far." And with that single verbalization, she had made the team and proven her talent quite clearly.

This was probably the reason why the Slytherins deemed her the prey, or at least, that's how the Gryffindors saw it. Ever since her last spat with Blaise Zabini, it seemed whenever she ran into a Slytherin, something bad ended up happening. Most often, it was a spell to make her run into the stone walls, resulting in awful bruises but, luckily, no permanent damage.

Harry chuckled as she ruefully rubbed at the biggest bruise, which happened to be in the middle of her forehead and was starting to turn purple. She muttered something along the lines of, "evil bastards," before Harry moved on, looking over his other players.

He had trained the next chaser himself and was proud to acknowledge it. Jordan Vance, a mousy brown-haired muggle and Gryffindor's third chaser, went by his last name whether you liked him or not. This seemed to disgruntle the Slytherins the most, as they weren't sure where Vance stood. If the Gryffindors hated him, then they should immediately like him, but if all the Gryffindors liked him, then they should automatically know to hate him.

Usually, calling somebody by only their last name was either signifying that you do not know this person, or you don't hold enough respect for them to call them by their first name. It was a very complicated issue for them and was debated constantly during the Quidditch matches.

Finally, there were the two beaters. Unfortunately, it seemed that as there were no others who had tried out in the previous years, Gryffindor still had Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke. Though not thought much of by anyone else, their skills had proved prominent enough to keep them on the team. Well, at least, until they could find the proper replacements. But this, it seemed, was the cause for the recent downfall of Gryffindor.

Prior to that year, they had placed second, just barely beating Ravenclaw by a mere 50 points in their last match against each other. In the final match, Slytherin slaughtered Gryffindor and never let them live it down after that. Hufflepuff had placed last, as was expected to happen again this year.

"Merlin, Harry, it's too early for Quidditch!" Ginny grumbled straightening her gold and scarlet robes and causing the others in the rooms to perk up and look at her incredulously. There was an awkward moment of silence before Ron blurted out,

"Too early for- too early for Quidditch she says!" he cried, staring at Ginny with shock. "It's _never _too early for _Quidditch_, Gin!" At Ginny's annoyed roll of her eyes, he threw his hands in the air, exasperated, and walked over to talk to Jack and Andrew about the rules.

Basically, he'd told them that, when it comes to Slytherin, there are no rules. Hearing somebody laughing, Harry turned and saw a bleary-eyed Kendra coming down the stairs.

"What kind of Weasley are you?" she smirked, walking over to Ginny and nudging her in the ribs. Ginny responded by childishly sticking her tongue out at first Kendra, then at Ron when his back was turned. At Harry's confused glance, Kendra answered his unspoken question.

"You can't have Ginny awake without the whole lot in our room bright-eyed as well. I thought you'd know that by now, what with all those summers at the Burrow." She trailed off. Harry laughed, catching on that Ginny had, once again, woken up her roommates on her way to the Common Room. She at least had the decency to blush.

"Right, well, ready for breakfast then?" Seamus questioned in a cheery voice, obviously the only one completely awake in the room. Before gaining a response, he walked over to Ginny grinning and offered his arm. It was well-known that Seamus fancied Ginny, but his attempts seemed to fall on deaf ears whenever it came to her. Ginny shook her head, chuckling, but nevertheless linked arms with Seamus. Harry, noticing Ron's icy glare, hurried over to him and ushered Ron out of the portrait hole to the Great Hall before he could start up anything.

xXxXx

"From Gryffindor, our starters are," Dean Thomas began in a loud, lively voice, "Harry Potter as seeker, Seamus Finnegan, Ginny Weasley, and Jordan Vance as chasers, Andrew Kirke, and Jack Sloper as beaters, aaand Ron Weasley as keeper!" His voice was drowned out as ¾ of the stadium cheered for Gryffindor. He continued, his voice now taking on a tone of slight boredom.

"Next, for Slytherin, the starters are Draco Malfoy as seeker, Blaise Zabini, Tanith Black, and Adrian Pucey as Chasers, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe as Beaters, and Thomas Bletchley as Keeper." There was loud response from the Slytherin section, and polite applause from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

Ginny sat, perched anxiously on her broom, waiting uneasily for Madame Hooch to let the Quaffle loose. Slytherin's team looked downright terrifying to her at the moment, as they all seemed to be glaring at her for surviving their latest spell. This one had walked her straight into the Great Hall doors, causing her nose to break with a resounding crack. But with one quick wave of Hermione's wand, Ginny had jumped up and continued on her way to the Quidditch pitch.

The Gryffindors had just finished practicing before the crowds began to gather, along with Slytherin. Harry, deciding that he didn't want to give them another chance at hurting the team, had quickly herded them into the locker rooms.

As Harry and Malfoy shook, it seemed they were both focused merely on the point of crushing the other's hand. Finally, though, they mounted their brooms and rose into the air, high above their teammates, ready to search for the Snitch as soon as it was released. Suddenly, Madame Hooch's whistle screeched loudly, and Dean Thomas' voice echoed throughout the pitch.

"Aaand, they're off!" Dean shouted, his voice getting excited at the promise of a good match between the two infamous rivals. "Finnegan dives for the Quaffle, but Black beats him to it! She races down the pitch, swerves Weasley and Vance. Whoa! Black just narrowly missed getting hit by a Bludger. Good hit, Sloper!" Professor McGonagall could be heard chastising him. "Sorry Professor," Dean continued, not sounding apologetic in the slightest.

"It seems the Bludger caught Black off guard, though, as she's dropped the Quaffle. Vance is there in time to catch it and he's off, speeding toward the hoops. He passes to Weasley, who fakes to Finnegan before attempting a shot and…SHE SCORES! Ginny Weasley has the first shot of the game. The score is 10-0, Gryffindor!" Dean shouted, with a hint of pride in his voice.

By the middle of the match, things had started going downhill for Gryffindor. The score was 240-110 Slytherin. The game had, so far, been going on two hours and the players were starting to tire. Slytherin, it seemed, was still trying in vain to knock Ginny out of the game and were currently hitting Bludger after Bludger towards her. She could barely pass the Quaffle, let alone attempt to score with it.

Meanwhile, the seekers' pursue for the Snitch proved fruitless. The only spotting of it had been in the beginning of the match, before it had eventually flown too high to be caught. This had angered the two seekers as their patience was stretched to a max and they were now shouting angrily at each other, their attention on the game distracted.

"Bletchley blocks a shot by Vance and passes the Quaffle to Pucey. Pucey seems to be signaling to his team about something. They're flying in some sort of arrow formation…yes, that's it! They're trying out the famous move, the Hawkshead Attacking Formation! It appears to be working, as the Gryffindors have backed off somewhat. COME ON, GRYFFINDOR! GET BACK IN THE GAME! Sorry Professor, I guess I got caught up in the moment there." Dean said laughing nervously.

"Weasley, female that is, flies to intercept the shot, and…she's got it! Weasley passes to Finnegan, who ducks a Bludger, and flies upward. I think he's trying to score, and it looks like the Slytherins have caught on and are following him up. Oh, and he's done it! He's pulled off the Porskoff Ploy. Basically, for all you non-Quidditch fanatics, this is where the Chaser flies upward, leading opposing Chasers to believe that he or she is trying to escape to score, in this case it was Finnegan, before throwing the Quaffle downwards to a fellow chaser, as in this instance, it was Vance. Way to go Seamus!" The crowd roared their approval. Dean continued.

"Vance passes to Weasley, who passes back to Vance after feinting to the right. Vance easily catches the quaffle and heads towards the hoops. He shoots…and he…misses. Awful luck you seem to be having, Vance. It's blocked by Bletchley, who throws it to Zabini. Weasley sets up to steal the quaffle, but, OI! THAT'S A FOUL! Zabini's deliberately flown right into Weasley, almost knocking her off her broom! She seems alright though and Madame Hooch has called for a Penalty Shot. Nice call, ref!"

Ginny trembled slightly, still trying to shake off her fear of the intimidating Slytherins now openly taunting her from the stands. She heard her teammates encouraging her in the distance, but tried desperately to push all the voices to the back of her mind, focusing only on making the shot. 'I'm so tired,' she thought, as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

Already, she had been driven into the stands twice, resulting in more awful bruises. Her teammates hadn't fared much better. Seamus had actually been knocked off his broom by an opposing Slytherin, but he had been close enough to the ground that no damage was done.

Jack and Andrew had blocked numerous Bludgers from hitting their fellow Gryffindors, but had missed a couple, resulting in Vance getting a bit bloodied up. He'd also seen his fair share of elbows, and had actually gotten the air knocked out of him once or twice.

Ginny shook her head, trying to concentrate. She waited for Madame Hooch's whistle, and, upon hearing it, hurriedly grasped the Quaffle. The Slytherin Keeper seemed to be contemplating her, watching her closely as he weaved around the three hoops.

Ginny took the opportunity to drive towards the left hoop, catching the Keeper off guard, before quickly throwing the Quaffle to the middle hoop. She succeeded in confusing Bletchley, who missed the block, and scored 10 more points for Gryffindor. As she swerved around to return to her team, she was met with a shout from Vance.

"WATCH OUT!" he cried desperately, as a Bludger raced towards Ginny's face. It was too late, though, and the impact of the Bludger was heard echoing throughout the pitch. The audience watched in stunned silence as she began falling to the ground, some 15 meters (about 50 feet) below. The last thing Ginny remembered before blacking out as she landed harshly on the ground was Harry calling a time-out and her brother rushing over to her, a look of sincere concern etched onto his face.

xXxXx

Ginny awoke feeling like someone was hitting her repeatedly on the back of her head with a beater's club. Her eyes scrunched in pain as she heard voices.

"You think she'll be alright, mate?" she heard Seamus say. "I was planning on asking her to Hogsmeade."

"Oh, shut it!" Ron retorted quickly, "Look, she's waking up."

Slowly, she opened one eye, before eventually opening the other. Briefly, the enchanted light of the Hospital Wing blinded her, until the curious looks from the Gryffindors surrounding her flooded into her vision.

"Oi, Gin, you alright?" a voice sounding very much like Vance asked. She groaned in response and closed her eyes again. Madame Pomfrey bustled over to the bed, pushing aside the onlookers. Ginny heard her casting a few spells, most likely checking her temperature, before being gently lifted up into a sitting position.

She opened her eyes again, looking alarmed as she saw Madame Pomfrey about to give her a foul looking potion. She opened her mouth to protest, but the nurse knew better and the medicine was shoved into her open mouth with a swish of the wand. Coughing as the potion slid down her throat, leaving her feeling like her mouth was on fire, Ginny looked around.

The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team stood around her, along with Colin, Kendra, and Hermione. She waited until the feeling in her mouth passed before asking the question that had been on the edge of her mind since waking up.

"What happened?" she winced as her voice sounded strained. Colin immediately stepped forward, looking eager to explain as he sat beside her on the hospital bed, gently patting her hand.

"Well, apparently, the Slytherins decided they'd had enough of you scoring," he started with a smirk, causing the others in the room to snicker. "So, Zabini and Black had told Crabbe to send a Bludger at you while you were attempting the penalty shot. Unfortunately for them, Crabbe is a little slow, so he didn't understand what they wanted him to do until after you had already scored. Then, I guess you know what happened next…" he trailed off, suddenly focusing on a spot on top her head. Ginny reached up with her left hand and felt the result of a magical-binding spell, sort of like muggle stitches.

"Right, well after you conked out, Harry called a time-out for regrouping. You were sent to the Hospital Wing along with," he stopped and moved so she could see the person sleeping in the bed beside her. "Malfoy," he finished somewhat gleefully.

"What happened to him?" she asked incredulously.

After looking him over from her position, she could tell that he had hurt his arm somewhat as it was wrapped rather tightly, and his face was dreadfully marred up. While sleeping, his appearance no longer held the impassive mask it usually did when she saw him, but a content expression instead. The Gryffindors laughed, snapping her out of her thoughts. Harry decided to take over answering her questions.

"I guess he didn't hear Madame Hooch's call for a time-out, because he kept chasing the Snitch…right into the teacher's stand. Broke his arm, I hope." He said chuckling. "They declared Slytherin disqualified and we won the match!" Ginny glanced around, and noticed that Kendra had a cut above her right eyebrow.

"Ken! What happened to your eye?" she asked confused. Kendra shrugged.

"The Slytherins aren't too happy with _any _Gryffindors right now, and I just happened to get in their way while I was heading to the pitch to help you."

The group then started rambunctiously telling her about the party that was to occur in the Common Room that night. It seemed Fred and George were planning on sneaking in not only Butterbeer, but Firewhiskey as well.

Madame Pomfrey chose that moment to interrupt their conversation before a celebration party broke out among the Gryffindors present. Within the minute, the Hospital Wing was empty again, and all was quiet except for the light breathing of the few sleeping, injured students.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, I see you're awake now. Sit up and I'll check you over." She said in a kind voice to him as he opened his eyes and looked around, seemingly surprised at waking up in the Hospital Wing. Ginny laughed at his obvious discomposure, and Malfoy quickly turned at the sound. Upon seeing her, he sneered with distaste, his mask quickly coming back into place.

"Thought you could win the match all by yourself, Malfoy?" Ginny questioned smiling. He crossed his arms as Madame Pomfrey forced a dose of Skelegrow potion down his throat. He grimaced at the taste before replying.

"Like I always say, Weasley, there's no 'I' in team. There's a 'me' though, if you jumble it up a bit." He responded, rolling his eyes. Ginny startled him by snorting. He was about to say something else when Madame Pomfrey once again shoved a mouthful of medicine in his mouth, giving Ginny a mischievous smile as she continued examining him. "Can I at least change out of these ridiculous hospital gowns?" he complained to the medi-witch, his voice taking on a tone of whining.

"No," she said firmly, "I need you to wear the gown."

"And I need two days of outrageous shagging with somebody obscenely younger than you. We all need something." He declared with a smirk, which quickly faded as Madame Pomfrey rewrapped his arm much tighter than necessary.

"Keep talking and I'll finish your exam with a prostrate test." She said threateningly to him, her face incredibly serious. Ginny was shaking with mirth, trying unsuccessfully to smother her laughter. "I want you both to stay here for the night." She continued, oblivious to Malfoy's pain at having the blood supply in his arm cut-off. "We'll decide in the morning whether or not you two are fit to leave." She then walked back to her office and loudly closed the door, obviously still miffed about Malfoy's comment, leaving the two students alone. There was an uncomfortable silence before he spoke to her again.

"So what exactly did Blaise say to you that got your knickers in such a twist yesterday?" he asked, his face void of any expression. Ginny looked straight into his eyes, wondering is he was intending to be cruel. She was met with pure curiosity.

"How did you hear about that? You weren't even there." She said, suddenly on the defensive. He sighed.

"It's Hogwarts, Weasley. I'm sure that by the end of the dinner, even Dumbledore knew." He sounded annoyed at having to explain himself to her.

"Oh," she said, slightly jolted that the Headmaster might have heard about what happened. "He mentioned something about my brother is all." To her surprise, he snorted.

"Which one?" he asked, shaking his head. Ginny's eyes narrowed.

"The one who was murdered, of course," she said angrily, before turning her head, and studiously looking anywhere but at him. She could feel his eyes boring through her, almost as if he could read her thoughts even while her body was turned. 'This is going to be one long night,' she decided.

"Right," he said, slightly abashed. "Well, how soon do you think it will be until that hag Madame Pomfrey lets us out?" Clearly, he was trying to change the subject. Ginny felt the corner her mouth quirk slightly. She had never witnessed Draco Malfoy attempting to make polite conversation. And he wasn't even insulting her!

'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.'

"Then again," she heard him say in a drawl, "If she bases it on superiority and looks, we all know who'll be out first."

'Once again, I'm proven wrong.'

xXxXx

A/N: Was that really long, or was it just me? 3,533 words! That's definitely a record for me.

Oh, and I'm sure some of you are wondering about the Hawkshead Attacking Formation. Basically, chasers form an arrowhead pattern and fly together toward the goalposts. Supposedly, it's high intimidating to the opposing team and effective in forcing the other players aside.

Thanks, once again, for all the reviews.

Jade Summers : Did I update in time? I hope by now you've gotten used to your hair. I actually really like your new quote. "Her Royal Mad Hatter…" Honestly, I'd have to say I liked your old one slightly better, but that might just be because I'm in love with the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Yeah, that could explain a couple of other things too…

.spitxfire. : This story certainly has taken some unexpected turns, and I _really_ hope it all works out in the end! Haha, usually the author is supposed to know exactly where their story is going, but I really have no clue! I have a vague idea, but there's no way of telling whether it'll work out or not. Thanks for the review!

moony's number 1 : That's funny that you and your cousins are the Marauders. I only see mine once a year, so you're lucky it's 2/3 times a year instead. Glad you liked that chapter, but their relationship does seem to be moving slow. I don't want things to move too fast, but maybe I can pick up the pace a bit?

Lithui : Haha, the sweater vest line was taken from one of my favorite shows, The O.C. Not sure if you've seen that one, if you haven't, you'll definitely have to look for it, it's positively addicting. Well, if you may love me, then I may just love you too!

I'll be blue if you don't review! Haha, wow, I'm going to have to work on my rhymes.


	7. Chapter Six

A/N: Well, it's taken me long enough I'd say! Hah, and I said I was going to be picking up the pace…right! The computer developed about 5 viruses and just got fixed today. Well, I really will try hard to get these next chapters that I have written out up much quicker. I have a wedding to go to this weekend so expect the next chapter in…about a week or so. Then again, with me, you'll never _really _know! ;-)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Six:**

xXxXx

Ginny was, once again, on her way to History of Magic classroom with Colin, whereas Kendra was walking in the opposite direction towards the Arithmacy lesson with one of Ginny's other dorm mates. Kendra and Colin had begun spending practically all of their free time together, often making Ginny feel much like the third-wheel.

Usually, after a couple moments of snogging in the far section of the library, they would separate, notably out of breath. Then, they would glance at Ginny with a surprised expression upon their face, as if they had honestly forgotten she was even there, sitting in such a close proximity to them as she continued studying, pretending she hadn't noticed and ignoring the slight pang in her chest at the thought of being overlooked by her friends.

Immediately after, as if it had never even happened, they would start to chatter with Ginny about the most ridiculous topics, just as they used to, the only reminder of the previous events being the guilt that lay, clearly evident, in their eyes.

Colin nudged Ginny in the ribs gently, letting her know that they had reached the classroom and halting her thoughts. Ginny gave a small smile at his thoughtfulness. He knew better than to ask her what was on her mind. If she wanted to talk to him about it, which most of the time she did, he wouldn't have to ask. This, however, was a more private thought, and Ginny didn't feel like sharing. She felt incredibly selfish for thinking the things she did about their relationship.

Together they entered the classroom, quietly joking that they wished this class was already over, though silently treasuring the few moments they could use for sleep. Taking their seats at the back of the ancient stone-floored room, they smirked at each other. Professor Binns quickly cleared his throat as the last of the students set foot in the classroom before beginning his lecture on the War of the Goblins, his voice taking on a slow, dull tone.

After making themselves comfortable, with Ginny casually laying her head on Colin's outstretched arms, while he tangled his fingers in her exceedingly long hair, resting his head on his elbow, she thought back to the events of the night in the Hospital Wing with Malfoy. His last comment had driven her to pan into a well of patience, which had been quickly running low.

They had bantered back and forth for a few minutes, slinging slightly used insults at each other, knowing it was only out of pure habit, before both decided to call a momentary truce so they could each get some rest. The next morning, when Ginny had woken up and looked over to his bed, she was met with a neatly made up hospital bed, the smell of the crisp, new sheets still lingering in the air. She was surprised at the slight disappointment she felt in the pit of her stomach. Ginny found she quite enjoyed their little spats, as it was nice to find somebody who could match her quick wit, and often, he countered it.

She was jerked out of her thoughts as Colin's elbow hit her sharply in the head.

"Ow!" Ginny cried indignantly, before noticing that she had the entire classes' attention. Confused, she looked over at Colin. Out of the side of his mouth, he muttered as covertly as he could that Professor Binns had asked her a question. Her eyes widened and she tried to make herself look innocent as she turned and was met with the annoyed look of her teacher.

"What's that you say, Professor?" Colin asked, his voice carrying across the room. "Didn't quite catch that," Ginny inwardly thanked fate for Colin's quick thinking and threw him a grateful look as the ghost in the front of the room let out a small sigh before repeating his question.

"I said," he started, making his voice obscenely loud and causing students to cringe at his scratchy voice. "What, exactly, was the cause of the War of the Goblins in 1823?" Ginny dug deep in her memory, trying hurriedly to think of an answer.

Fortunately, once, when her mum had sent her to tell her brothers that the dinner was ready, Percy had droned on and on about the subject to her before she could manage an excuse to leave his room. Hastily, she offered what she thought to be the correct answer. Receiving a nod from Professor Binns, she let out a breath of relief as the class returned to their bored thoughts.

"Thanks, Colin." She said, chuckling quietly. Colin returned it with a mock solute and a teasing grin.

"Who knew you had it in you, Gin. I honestly didn't take you as a history devotee, thought that was more along the lines of Hermione." She laughed and proceeded to whisper the story about Percy to Colin, causing him to smirk at the predictability of the tale. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson, and the two rose and left quickly, both not wanting to encounter the Slytherins.

"Damn, forgot my quill." He muttered, turning to go back. He paused, though, upon seeing the 7th year Slytherins beginning to make their way down the hall. "Oh sod it, quill was cheap anyway." He said with a light smile.

Ginny nodded, temporarily distracted as she unintentionally searched the crowd for a certain blonde. She found him talking to Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. He looked over in her direction and their eyes met. She looked away guiltily, a blush rising in her face at the result of being caught.

"Right, well, let's be off then!" she said in an overly cheery voice to Colin, who looked dubious at her attempts to cover her blush. He glanced towards the Slytherins, wondering who had caught her attention, but saw no one as they had already entered the classroom. Reminding himself to watch her closer, he smiled and quietly led her to their next class.

xXxXx

Idly playing with her food in the Great Hall, Ginny tried in vain to tune out the loud voices of the obnoxious, talkative bunch of fourth year Gryffindor girls sitting beside her at dinner. For the past ten minutes, they had virtually gossiped about every bloke's looks, good and bad, in the whole school, Slytherins included! Throwing them a glare, she turned and focused her attention back on her two friends, Kendra and Colin.

The two were currently making googly eyes at each other, distractedly waiting for Ginny to finish up so they go to the library and study. Well, at least, that's what Ginny planned to do. She knew better than to think that her friends wouldn't spend the free time snogging. Disgusted at their antics, she once again turned to her food.

Throughout the whole meal, she had barely eaten more than a few bites, finding Colin and Kendra had unsurprisingly taken away her appetite as soon as she'd begun. Ginny sighed again, growing bored, her mind beginning to wander before her thoughts were rudely interrupted.

"Miss Weasley," Professor Snape said suddenly from behind her. Ginny, startled, yelped harshly and tossed the fork of pumpkin pie in a state of surprise, evoking Colin and Kendra to snap out of their trance and look at the Potions Master confusedly.

"Y-yes Professor?" Ginny asked meekly, slowly raising her eyes to meet the disdained expression on Snape's face. He rolled his eyes at her stuttering before continuing.

"I'm supposed to be overseeing a detention in a couple of minutes, but, as it is, the Headmaster has requested my presence. All other prefects have a meeting directly after dinner with the Heads. Miss Granger," he said her name with a sneer. "Has suggested you for the job. Since you are not a prefect, however, I will send someone down to relieve you of your services. Is that clear?" he finished, his question not offering her a chance to answer. He turned to walk away when Ginny finally mustered up the courage to ask a question. She hoped to Merlin he wouldn't take points.

"Professor, whose detention am I supervising?" she questioned, inwardly relieved that her voice at least _sounded_ calm, even if her fidgety demeanor told otherwise.

"A couple of second years, Hufflepuffs I believe. They decided to forget the last five steps of the instructions I had clearly written, in big print might I add, on the board. Awful, the whole lot of them. You're to have them recreate the potion and they aren't to leave until they get it done perfectly. I'll let your replacement know." He said with a roll of his eyes before briskly walking away to the Slytherin table, his robes billowing behind him as usual.

'Of course,' she thought exasperated, 'he would _have_ to have a Slytherin Prefect come as my backup.'

After making sure her Potions Professor was completely out of hearing range, she put her head in her hands and groaned. "I'm going to kill Hermione," she said, her voice muffled somewhat. Kendra frowned and patted Ginny's back sympathetically.

"Don't worry, Gin. I'm sure you'll find time to finish up that Divination calendar later tonight. Besides, he _did_ say he would send somebody down to 'relive' you." Kendra offered, mocking Snape's choice of words with a smirk.

"Well, since you're about done here, how about me and Colin walk you down to the Potions classroom, and then we can head off to the library?" she said, looking over at Colin with a wink. Ginny smiled half-heartedly.

"No s'alright, Ken. The library's in a completely opposite direction than the Potions room. You two go ahead and 'study.'" she said using her hands to signify her meaning on the word 'study.' The two grinned sheepishly, not realizing they had been that obvious. "If the prefect or whoever comes down early," Ginny carried on, "then I'll come up and meet you there. Regular table?" Kendra nodded as Colin lightly took her hand.

"See you, then." He said with an appreciative grin, before excitedly pulling Kendra out of the Great Hall and off to the library. Ginny sighed again, a wistful expression on her face at her friends' obvious happiness. She just wished she could be as happy _for_ them as they were with each other.

'Uh! What am I doing? Wallowing in self-pity? Get a grip, Gin!' she told herself with a shake of her head.

She stood then, straightening her shabby robes, which had become crinkled sometime during the meal. Quickly, before more thoughts could take over her already strained emotions, she agilely walked out of the Great Hall and hurried down to the dungeons.

xXxXx

Kendra stifled a giggle that was hard to contain as Colin attempted to be suave and kissed her neck. They had only just arrived to the library and had barely sat down at their usual table in the back before Colin started up with his so-called 'romantic' tricks.

"Colin!" she shrieked and playfully slapped his arm as his kisses started trailing father down. He gave a fake pout, giving her his best attempt at a puppy face. "Let's at least get some books to block the view from the others. We wouldn't want to _distract _them." Kendra continued, giving him a meaningful look. Colin laughed and quickly stood up to pull out her chair for her.

"After you, milady," He said and made an effort to bow. Kendra snorted and pushed him towards the bookshelves, and from there they started looking for the thickest volumes to ensure the utmost privacy for them until Ginny came.

"I'm going to check the next aisle." Kendra called over her shoulder before walking around the tall bookcase separating the rows. She heard Colin grunt in response as he shouldered six heavy books over to the table. Before she could begin down the aisle, though, she walked into someone. Falling back from the force, she landed on the ground, her cheeks glowing in embarrassment.

"Sorry," she muttered, pushing herself from the floor to stand up, "wasn't looking where I…" she trailed off as she finally looked up at who she had bumped into.

Blaise Zabini stood directly in front of her, arms crossed, his face completely vacant, as if he hadn't just barely been bowled over by Kendra. She looked behind him, noticing a disheveled looking Tanith Black glaring at her through the brown locks that had escaped her hair tie. It seemed she and Colin weren't the only ones _not _studying.

"You were saying," Blaise asked in a cold, expectant voice. He moved his body so that it shielded Tanith from her view.

"Yes, er, I was saying, um…" Kendra started, desperately trying to think of a decent apology while slowly backing up.

"Bentley," Blaise snapped, irritated, "if I wanted to hear someone speak incoherently, I would have gone and talked to your mudblood boyfriend." Kendra's eyes jerked up to meet his angrily.

"Sod off, Zabini." She bit out with a venomous glare. "Least Colin isn't the biggest whore in school!" Kendra smiled triumphantly as she heard an indignant screech come from behind Blaise. She inwardly cursed herself afterwards, though, for not swallowing her own tongue as the Slytherin boy's eyes flickered in suppressed rage.

"Following after you, of course." He spat back. Fortunately, Colin chose that moment to walk up, a confused look on his face as he sensed the patent tension between the three of them.

"Miss something, did I?" he asked cautiously, studiously avoiding Tanith and Blaise's glowers. "Zabini, Black." He added as a polite greeting, though he said it through gritted teeth after noticing that Kendra seemed slightly frazzled.

Blaise just rolled his eyes, his hands tightening into fists before he grabbed Tanith's wrist and roughly brushed past Kendra, knocking her into the bookcase.

"You alright?" Colin asked her concerned. She nodded, giving him a dazzling smile.

"I do believe we have enough books, Mr. Creevy." She said with a mischievous wink. Colin chuckled and lightly guided her back to the table.

xXxXx

Meanwhile, Ginny sat on top of one of the desks in the dungeon, watching with bored fascination as the Hufflepuffs gingerly added crushed basil to the Sleeping Draught they were endeavoring. For the past thirty minutes, she'd only had to stop them from adding a wrong ingredient twice, and that was saying something!

She impatiently blew her hair out of her face, counting down the seconds until she figured the Prefect would arrive. Already, she had used her wand to paint her fingernails ten different shades of red and gold. Absently blowing on them, though a simple drying spell could quicken her attempts, she let her eyes travel around the Potions classroom.

She saw the door, and thought longingly of what lay mere seconds from the outside of it; her freedom. She would almost rather spend her time pretending to study while Colin and Kendra snogged, than be forced to quietly watch the second years make their potion, glancing at her every now and then to be assured they weren't doing anything wrong. The hand on the clock couldn't possibly move any slower.

Her eyes moved along, passing over Snape's desk, which was impeccably clean as usual. She found the dirty cauldrons, resting in a sink, presumably waiting for the next Gryffindors who had detention. They would most definitely spend half the night scrubbing with toothbrushes. Next was the ingredients cupboard.

The brown, wooden cupboard lacked its usual sufficient amount of supplies. The remaining bottles still in it were somewhat cluttered compared to their usual state of organization. Seeing that one of the containers had been knocked over and was slowly spilling its contents, Ginny hurried over to the cupboard, cast a repairing charm and muttered a fleet, 'Scorgify.' In her haste, she hadn't noticed that her replacement had arrived.

"Merlin, I didn't realize a spilt potion could do that to your hair color." A voice said in disgust.

"Stuff it, Malfoy." Ginny retorted without even turning. She closed the cupboard door and walked back over to the desk she had previously been sitting on to grab her bag. Malfoy tried again.

"Off to the library so you can pretend to study?" He asked, his voice radiating in mock pity. Ginny could practically feel the smirk rise on his face as she noticeably stiffened. She took a deep breath, silently counting to ten. She got to the number three before her temper snapped at the truth in his statement.

'How could he, my supposed _enemy_, have realized that fact before my _friends _even bothered to take notice?' she thought aghast.

Making sure her face looked impassive, she slowly turned around, tucking a piece of her auburn hair behind her ear. Ginny and Malfoy barely discerned the paused movement from the two Hufflepuffs out of the corner of her eye as they stopped with anticipation to watch what they all knew was an oncoming argument.

Malfoy looked to be in all of his glory, and though his face told nothing, his eyes seemed to say it all. He knew he was right and had correctly assumed that his statement would bother her. Ginny let a smile lightly grace her face, catching Malfoy off guard as his smirk faltered slightly.

"Why are you smiling? You think the truth's funny, do you?" He said with a glare. This had not been what he had expected at all. He was even more startled, however, as Ginny threw her head back and laughed heartily.

"I'm not smiling because I think you're funny, Malfoy." She said calming down, saying his name with anger. "I'm smiling because I know someday, you'll be dead." As she finished she smirked at him, though her eyes were most serious. Malfoy was, at first, shell-shocked, but he quickly bounced back.

"As an outsider, Weasley, what do you think of the human race?" he spat with venom clearly evident in his tone.

"Are you always this stupid, or is today a special occasion?" she asked with a haughty grin. The Hufflepuffs struggled to muffle their snickers. That Hufflepuff lot had some nerve.

"I'm a blonde, what's your excuse?" He said, his eyes narrowing so Ginny could just barely catch the amusement beginning to glint in his silver eyes. She despised that glint with all of her being. He was laughing at her! Furious, she faced the Hufflepuffs.

"Out." She hissed, pointing her right hand towards the door. One look at Ginny's face was enough to have them scurrying. She closed her eyes tightly, taking just one more deep breath, before turning back towards Malfoy.

Her rage was further heightened, however, when she opened her eyes to find the Slytherin smirking, leaning casually against a wall with his arms crossed. He looked as if he did this all the time, and, knowing him, he probably did with Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"Aw, Weasley, we were just getting started. Why'd you have to kick out our audience?" he said, his eyes practically dancing in humor. This look was not one Ginny was accustomed too, and to be perfectly honest, not something she preferred.

With him…well, flirting, she had no idea what he was going to do next. She knew this was most likely his plan, so she kept up her defense mode, though she was quickly running out of insults.

"You know what I like about rich people, Malfoy? Nothing." Ginny replied, her tone now very icy. It was clear, though, that she was still confused at his demeanor. This one insult seemed to, luckily, strike a nerve, as Ginny jubilantly noted the wretched, amused glint was gone from Malfoy's eyes.

"Do not piss me off, _Ginny_." He said back just as icily, careful to enunciate her first name, though his voice had lowered seriously. Glad at finally having the upper hand, Ginny smirked.

"Why? Running out of places to hide the bodies? You're pathetic, _Draco_, you know that?" Now he stood up to his full height, pushing himself off the wall. Raising one fine eyebrow, he quickly fired back.

"Yeah, well at least I'll grow out of it! You, however…" he laughed cruelly. Ginny screeched heatedly. She walked up to him and poked him full force with her finger.

"You." Poke. "Infuriate." Poke. "Me!" Poke. Suddenly, he grabbed her finger and yanked her up against him, locking her body against his chest.

"Shut it, Weasley." He muttered before bringing down his mouth to cover hers. Ginny let out a startled, "Mmph!" as he tenderly kissed her. Though her mind was screaming to stop, her body took over, and within seconds, she was kissing him back more savagely.

He ran his tongue over her lips, begging for entrance, and she quickly responded by opening her mouth to him as their tongues explored. They separated and Ginny wrapped her legs around him as his nibbled on her neck.

Ginny moaned and felt Draco smirk as she shivered. He quickly took hold of her and turned them so that Ginny was now pushed against the stone wall. Taking this as her cue, she grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss.

"Ahem," they heard someone cough uncomfortably. As if they had been burned, they pushed of each other quickly. Since Ginny was against the wall, she knocked her head against the cold stone and yelped. A blush rose furiously to her cheeks as Draco and Snape gave her an amused look.

"Right, er, I was just leaving." She managed to rush out before grabbing her back and running out of the room. Professor Snape's eyes followed her silently until she was out of sight, and then returned to Draco, his expression becoming stern.

"Draco, I believe you and I need to have a word." He said somberly as he closed the door, conjuring a straight-backed chair in front of his desk before taking a seat. He watched with carefully hidden pride as the young Slytherin's face reverted back to impassive and uncaring.

"Yes, sir?" he prompted, the only sign of the previous events being his labored breathing, but that as well was quickly returning to his regular pace.

"What are your intentions with Miss Weasley?" Snape inquired curiously. Draco's face lost its calm demeanor immediately.

"What?" he cried incredulously. The professor held up a hand to stop further protests.

"Do you realize, Mr. Malfoy, that if word of this got back to your father, things could turn ugly for not only you, but those involved?" he said as he started grading the papers on his desk, trying to remain casual.

"Snape-" the teacher gave him a reproachful look. "Right, sorry. _Professor_, I think you've _completely _mistaken what happened tonight. I-we…there's nothing going on between us!" Draco answered, struggling with his words. "It was one heated moment where we both lost our heads."

"That's not quite what it seemed when I walked in. I'm afraid if I hadn't interfered, things could have escalated quite quickly, Draco." Snape said, still annoyingly calm.

"Please, of course things would have escalated! How old do you think we are? But it wouldn't have meant anything and we both knew that the moment we started. One, quick shag to release tension, then it would have gone back to the normal hating feuds every now and then." He seemed very exasperated as Snape simply raised his eyebrows.

"Mr. Malfoy, I had hoped you would have realized this about women. They have this thing, see. It's called feelings. Usually, after an event, such as the one you're suggesting," he said uncomfortably, as this was certainly not his area of expertise. "the woman doesn't automatically think, 'Right! One, quick shag, _now _we can go back to normal!' Most likely, she'll think something along the lines of, 'Wow, this changes everything! Does he fancy me? More importantly, do I fancy him?' And so on and so forth. Now this is where their feelings kick in, my dear lad." Draco rolled his eyes.

"How would you like it if I interfered in your personal life?" he demanded angrily of the Potions Master, walking to the door and yanking it open.

"I'd hate it. That's why I cleverly have no personal life." Snape said with a smirk. Draco sighed, looking over his shoulder at Snape, his hand resting on the door as he prepared to leave.

"This conversation isn't over, is it?" He asked in a defeated voice. Snape laughed, answering his question. "Thought so," he said tiredly closing the door behind him.

"One, two, three," the professor counted on his fingers. The sound of a fist was heard roughly hitting the door. Then a cry from his student that made Snape chuckle,

"BLOODY HELL!"

xXxXx

First and foremost, I'm sorry for the delay. I really need to work on getting these chapters out quicker, otherwise this is going to take a whole year! Haha okay, thanks again to the reviewers! It honestly means so much to me!

TropicalTreat101 – It was a pathetic rhyme, I know, haha go ahead and admit it! Thanks for reading and more importantly, reviewing!

Moony's number 1 – Yay! School's finally out for you, so I bet you were just as excited as I was to finally escape! Though this particular scene involving Ginny and Draco _was _going to happen in this chapter, you gave me a little push to make it more…hmm, shall we say intimate? Haha

Jade Summers – Yessssss… I've been waiting for that stamp of approval! Haha I loved your bio, had me laughing the whole way! And…I think we have a record. 4,127 words! I'm either getting really good at this, or completely obsessed…hmm, I wonder which. Also, I just watched Sleepless in Seattle again on TV, complete coincidence!

.spitxfire. – haha I know, Draco has been quite rude to Ginny, but what can you expect from a Slytherin, and a Malfoy at that!

Outsider Wolf – Thank you! I'm glad you like my story so far, it's my first fic so I'm trying hard. You nailed it, though. She is currently in some sort of prison, though where or why we don't yet know. I've hinted that it isn't Azkaban, but as she's still having these flashbacks (which I'm using to explain the situation) you're given more information. Don't worry, things will all make sense in the end, so keep reading!

Fleury – Thanks! I know exactly what you mean. I'm always reading stories with Quidditch matches, but half the time, I have no idea what's going on! I researched a lot on Google to get most of that information, ;-D

Alright, I have a new rhyme to influence you to review. Seeing as this is a desperate attempt. though, take pity on me and review.

If you agree, then review for me!

Lord, somebody help me… haha

Sunflour


	8. Chapter Seven

A/N: Okay, new chapter – going to the beach this weekend so while I'm there, I'll go over the other chapters coming up. Alright, enough of this, here's your story.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten 

**Chapter Seven:**

"Hope for the best but prepare for the worst," Kendra read aloud in a fatigued tone. Ginny scoffed quietly at how ironic that statement actually was. She was doing exactly that as she pondered what had occurred between herself and Malfoy. Would it even be proper to call him by his last name now?

It'd been a couple days and she was still slightly dazed. Malfoy, or Draco (which was it?), had ostensibly been avoiding her, as she in turn evaded him. Ginny had been completely and utterly dumbfounded since coming back from the dungeons that night, and her behavior certainly hadn't gone unnoticed by her two friends.

Colin and Kendra had walked into the Common Room, just moments before, after another one of their 'study sessions' in the library, only to be guiltily drawn in by Ginny's complaints on her 'monumental' amount of homework she'd received from Professor Trelawney that morning.

After the teacher's short lapse in her career at Hogwarts amid Ginny's fourth year, Dumbledore had allowed Professor Trelawney to continue educating the students of Hogwarts, along with Firenze of course.

The two had been alternating classes since the Centaur was no longer welcome in the Forbidden Forest and had no choice but to continue teaching. The three Gryffindors, however, presently lay lounging on their stomachs in front of the fire, all chairs having been forgotten in their haste to finish Ginny's essay.

Kendra had the bulky Divination book sprawled out in front of her, her face propped up by her hands as she skimmed over, what she considered to be, the unimportant details. Colin had snatched a spare bit of parchment from a third year, and was currently drawing things like circles, squares, triangles, stars, brooms, the Snitch, Professor Trelawney getting struck by lightning; basically anything to keep him from having to actually to do anything involving homework. He was much like Ron and Harry in those aspects.

Meanwhile, Ginny had been half-heartedly listening to Kendra drone on about the mysterious shapes of trees, and how certain colorings of the leaves almost always signified a coming of death. Her mind was mainly focused on what she would do _if _she should happen to run into Draco…or Malfoy.

Would she mention what the few mind-boggling minutes of snogging him had done to her? Immediately after reaching the stairwell that led to Gryffindor Tower, she'd had to lean on the wall to slow her racing heart. Her mind had been spinning, with longing for more of his kisses, the feeling of the last one still pounding painfully throughout her body.

Or, would she ignore that it had ever happened, and continue on with their childish insults? What was the use, though? After all, everybody in the castle, teachers and ghosts included, had already heard even their newest 'verbal-weapons,' and honestly, they weren't that impressive. Ginny's struggles to humble the prat seemed to fall on deaf ears, especially when it came to him.

The most essential question of them all, though, was, in her opinion, what if that sole kiss had feeling hidden profoundly within it. There was no doubt that there had been a spark, yes, she knew that without a doubt; but did that single fleeting moment, which had really felt like hours, present any indication of a more intense feeling, well, other than hate of course?

Now, Ginny was a sensible girl. She could effortlessly fathom the concept that Malfoy (or Draco) would have absolutely no idea what she might or might not be feeling, and would most likely think that she was off her rocker.

After all, he _was _infamously known as the school-heartbreaker, and heart-breaking he certainly _had_ done. If Ginny should try to pursue a relationship with the Slytherin though… well, she might as well be saying, 'Here's my heart, I'll let you shatter it!'

Unbeknownst to her, Kendra and Colin were thoughtfully contemplating her far-off expression, glancing at each other every now and then to confirm their latest revelation. Ginny, it seemed, had her eye on a new conquest.

All three were jolted from their thoughts, however, as Ron, Harry and Hermione dashed in from the portrait hole over to where Ginny, Colin and Kendra were lazing. At Ron's expectant look towards them, Kendra and Colin looked confusedly at each other, while Ginny just looked agitated.

"Well," Ron prompted irritatingly. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"What?" She snapped back, pushing herself up so she was resting on her knees. Her brother gave an over exaggerated sigh, as if to say, 'Are you really _that _daft?' before finally answering.

"Are you leaving or not?" Harry buried his face in his hand, knowing this would anger Ginny, while Hermione shook her head at Ron's rude tone. The bushy-haired witch wisely decided to interject before one of the three still on the ground could reply.

"Honestly, Ronald, you could be a _bit_ more polite." She chastised before turning to Ginny. "Gin, do you mind if we take over this part of the Common Room? We have something, er, private to discuss." She said, uncomfortable at the fact of having to drive them out. At Harry's pleading look, Ginny finally relented.

"Fine, fine," she answered saucily. Colin quickly stood up and offered a hand to the two girls on the floor, both of whom graciously accepted. Gathering their stuff, of which there was little, they slowly and purposely took their time picking up and leaving.

Eventually Ron, thoroughly exasperated, helped cart their few and small items to the far side of the room, opposite the couches and chairs, where a solid, wooden table stood awkwardly. Walking away, he could be heard muttering something along the lines of, 'stupid twit, starting to sound just like mum, that one.'

"Oi, what's going on with those three?" Kendra mumbled, so as not to be overheard. The comfy chairs by the fireplace were widely known for their tendency to become a place of meeting, considering sound originating from there didn't seem to echo quite as much as other spots in the Common Room.

Whereas, the area where Colin, Kendra and Ginny were now sitting…well, you could hear even the smallest of whispers resounding from there. This was precisely the reason few Gryffindors chose to sit their, unless of course, it was the only option available, should the Common Room get particularly crowded. Luckily, there were only a handful of seventh and sixth years around, so they weren't likely to be overheard if the three made sure to whisper.

"I dunno." Ginny said, as an inquiring expression registered on her face. "They act as if it's some kind of club they've got going on." She said, confused at their behavior. Usually, when the trio wanted to talk about something Voldemort-related, they went to Hermione's private dormitory since she was Head Girl. Colin snorted.

"Ah, right, a _secret_ club. What's the secret, though, that they're all morons?" Kendra smirked at his remark, an irksome glint appearing in her crystal-blue eyes.

"Whatever it is they're up to, we should find out. Gin, do you still have those Extendable Ears Fred and George gave you?" she asked with a hopeful grin.

xXxXx

"Ouch, Colin!" Ginny whispered threateningly as Colin stepped on her toe. The previous Christmas, Ginny had received two pairs of Extendable Ears from Fred and George.

Unfortunately, their mum had caught sight of one of them, and immediately tossed it. The other one had luckily been hidden, but haplessly, while in its hiding spot deep within Ginny's trunk, it'd been torn, leaving only one extension.

Ginny, Colin and Kendra were currently huddling together in the shadows of the boys' stairwell, which lay closest to the fire in the Common Room. Moments before, they had released the Extendable Ear, but hadn't been able to properly hear what was being said, as they had to hold the Ear out in front of them, leaning their faces as close to each other as possible to try and apprehend what Ron, Harry, and Hermione were discussing.

"Shh, it's a good thing we're being sly enough not to be caught. You keep talking and there's no hope for us at all." Kendra hissed, nudging Ginny. She rolled her eyes at Kendra, but nonetheless, quieted, but not before shooting Colin a dirty look. The three of them crouched tighter as they heard Harry start talking again.

"…Dumbledore said…and that we should watch him…should be deciding any day…"

"What's he saying?" Colin whispered. Kendra shot him a glare, hinting for him to keep silent.

Ron started talking. "…supposed to do…can't very well follow him all…suppose he's at the Owlery now…" Hermione interrupted then.

"…honestly, how would we even know…not like we could snatch his letter…might be jinxed…what…he'll choose?"

"Who in bloody hell are they talking about?" Ginny muttered, frustrated.

"Shh!" Colin and Kendra hissed simultaneously.

"…a spy?…No doubt choose…Death Eaters…" Ron trailed off loudly. Suddenly, something inside Ginny's memory clicked. Hadn't she heard Snape talking to Malfoy…or Draco (she _really _need to clear that up) that night she left her bag in the Potions classroom?

'Yes! Snape _did _mention something about Draco picking sides; whether by becoming a Death Eater, a member of the Order, or a spy. I had no idea Dumbledore had informed Harry about his options, though.' Ginny thought.

She was momentarily distracted as Colin hurriedly grabbed her arm, along with Kendra's, and pulled them up the staircase. He quickly pushed them into his dormitory and turned to close the door, but not before Ginny caught a glimpse of Ron and Harry hurdling up the steps towards them with angry expressions on their faces.

"What happened, just then?" Ginny asked confused. Colin covered her mouth with his hand, mouthing Kendra to keep quiet. Pounding was heard on the fragile, wooden door.

"GINEVRA WEASLEY, COLIN…WHATEVER YOUR LAST NAME IS, AND KENDRA…SAME GOES FOR YOU, GET OUT HERE THIS INSTANT! I KNOW YOU'RE ALL IN THERE, WE SAW YOU WHEN HERMIONE FOUND THE EXTENDABLE EAR." Ron shouted. A few moments later, Hermione could be heard calling the two boys back down to the Common Room. Seconds after that, Harry and Ron's footsteps could be heard reluctantly traveling downstairs.

"Well," Kendra stated dryly, "so much for being sly."

XXxXx

The Great Hall was bursting with both noise and warmth as Ginny strolled in through the doors. The smell of dinner traipsed around, lingering with her as she remembered just how hungry she really was. Colin and Kendra both sighed beside her, their stomachs craving the meal that awaited them.

The three friends had to arrive for dinner later than was usual for them, as hiding from Ron and Harry was no easy task. Three times they'd sent down passing fifth years as lookouts, and three times they'd had to run back into Colin's dormitory. Eventually, they could no longer deny how anxious they were to get to dinner.

Upon reaching the Common Room, the small group was instantly met with a worried looking Harry, who said he'd sent Ron and Hermione down after promising to talk to them. Ginny remembered the guilt she'd felt as Harry explained that if they'd heard anything, he could get into a lot more trouble than he already was for spilling to his two best friends.

After assuring him that they hadn't, in fact, heard any coherent phrases, and showed him the torn Extendable Ear as proof, he abated and let them walk down to dinner, saying he'd meet them in a couple of minutes.

As Colin and Kendra started towards the Gryffindor table, Ginny made sure to sit on the side opposite the Slytherin table…just as a precaution, of course. She wanted to be the first to see Malfoy leave so she could finally talk to him and get the whole conversation over with.

'Wait…just what exactly am I supposed to say to him?' Ginny thought. Taking her seat, she groaned and dropped her head into her arms, suddenly depressed all over again. Kendra prodded Colin. He took one look at Ginny before asking the obvious.

"Gin, what in Merlin's name are you doing?" The girl in question raised her head, gave him a glare, before returning to her sulking.

"Mmumph, ho mmumfent mumorman." She mumbled through her arms. Kendra rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, what was that? Some reason, I couldn't seem to understand what you were saying." She said sarcastically.

"I said," Ginny answered despondently, lifting her head. "Nothing, you wouldn't understand. Hey, Col, pass the pumpkin juice, will you?" Colin put on a look of mock-shock.

"What? _We_, your _best friends_, wouldn't understand? Honestly, what is the world coming to these days?" He asked in dismay. Ginny snorted. "Might as well spill, Gin," he continued. "Otherwise, Kendra and I might just have to sing another song about you." Kendra smirked as Colin's voice took on a sing-song tone.

"Agreed," Ginny replied laughing and then added seriously. "I could certainly use the advice."

She then proceeded to tell them the whole story, starting with how utterly mind-numbing the detention had started off as, and ending with her near heart attack on the stairwell. A moment of stunned silence ensued before anyone said anything.

"Right," Kendra said, clearing her throat. "So, you're saying you felt, what was it, a spark?" Ginny nodded sadly. "Well, I can't really say I blame you! After all, he _is _the most shaggable guy…second most! I meant _second _most shaggable guy in Hogwarts!" She quickly corrected as Colin glared.

"Anyway," he said, throwing Kendra a look and absently fixing his hair. "You're planning on tell him this because…" he trailed off turning to Ginny, looking truly perplexed with the situation.

"Well I have to tell him sometime, otherwise it'll always be in the back of my mind every time we argue. That is, if we get past the whole 'I'm ignoring you were ever born, and wishing you were dead,' situation." Kendra looked pensive before answering.

"She's right, Col. Suppose she slipped one day arguing with him in the corridors. Just imagine how many people would hear and realize that she's completely loony."

"Hey!" Ginny indignantly interjected. Kendra just smiled cheekily back. Colin sighed loudly, causing Ginny to turn and focus her attention on him.

"All right, look, if you absolutely have to tell him about this…er, spark, at least wait until the timing's right. By they way, that's _exactly_ what deathbeds are for!" He said in all seriousness. Ginny and Kendra looked at each other once before bursting out laughing.

"What? I wasn't joking!" Colin cried, but he couldn't help the smirk the edged its way onto his face.

Meanwhile, while Ginny's attention was distracted, Draco had stood up and was making his way out of the Great Hall. He pushed the over-sized doors open and stalked down the hallway towards the stairwell that would lead him to the Owlery. Harry nodded at Ron and Hermione before the three of them quickly got up from their seats and hurried to follow him.

xXxXx

A/N: well, that was a short chapter compared to my last few. Then again, I am getting ready to leave for the beach in a few minutes, so I guess you could say I'm rather anxious to leave! Oh, by the way, about that quote in the first line:

_Hope for the best but prepare for the worst._

_--English Proverb_

Thanks to the people who reviewed!

Moony's number 1 – haha and here I thought that last scene between Ginny and Draco was soo surprising! Well, I tried! Glad you liked it though!

Jade Summers – Thanks, I think I liked Snape in that last chapter as well. I kind of based his character on a friend of mine…annoying really. Have a fun vacation! Thanks again for the stamp!

.spitxfire. – yeah, most fics I've read lately just have them already dating and no background as to how they got that way! Hope you like this chapter as well!

I'd really like to know what everybody thinks about this chapter so please review!

Sunflour


	9. Chapter Eight

A/N: School's started up again so I'll be updating either every weekend or every other weekend. Ahh! I'm sorry about how long this update took. Forgive me by reading this next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Eight:**

"Harry, have you got your Invisibility Cloak?" Ron whispered furtively to his raven-haired friend as they quickly traveled down the hall, their footsteps echoing loudly on the stone floors. Harry nodded, and glanced in Hermione's direction as she quietly cast a spell to silence their steps. He grinned gratefully at her, before returning his attention back to the problem at hand.

Exactly how were the three of them supposed to get a hold of Malfoy's letter? A few days ago, Dumbledore had delivered Harry a message requesting his presence later that afternoon. Harry had arrived, slightly confused as to why he was there. They'd quickly greeted each other, Harry asking how Dumbledore felt, and the Headmaster offering his student a lemon drop.

Pleasantries out of the way, the issue was swiftly brought into the topic of discussion, and Harry learned that Malfoy was about to make an extremely important decision concerning the war.

If he should choose to be a member of the Order, Dumbledore would need to know immediately so he would be able to safely hide Draco. On the other hand, if Malfoy chose to be a Death Eater, following in his father's footsteps, the Headmaster would need to know so he could proceed to instead caution Professor Snape.

"Snape?" Harry had asked, confused. "Why would you need to warn _him_?" He had to then be explained to about the conversation his Potion's Professor had recently had with Draco. "And what if he wishes to be a spy?" Harry had then asked cautiously.

"Then he is in even more danger than I can express to you, Harry. I will not be able to hide and protect him, or his mother for that matter, without blowing his cover. Should anything happen, he will be fully responsible." Dumbledore had answered gravely.

Now, both Ron and Hermione were accompanying Harry to the Owlery, where they suspected they would find Draco sending a letter. Unfortunately, at the moment, none of the three had a plan as to how they would snitch the letter without Malfoy catching them in the act.

"What we need is a distraction of some sort." Harry mumbled, more to himself than to his friends as he looked to the cracked floors for inspiration. Ron scratched his head thoughtfully, trying hard to come up with an idea to help.

An eerie expression suddenly came upon the two boys' faces, and their eyes glowed as they glanced at each other, as if silently agreeing on something. Nodding, they simultaneously looked towards Hermione as she took a step back, startled at the strange gleam in their eyes.

She wished, now more than ever, that she could have had the chance to read that red, tattered book she'd found in the library once; All You'll Ever Need to Know About Reading Your Best Friends' Minds, by Harriet Smithers.

xXxXx

Dinner in the Great Hall was just about to end, and sunlight was quickly diminishing. The stars in the ceiling slowly began to appear, emitting a light, golden glow.

Ginny delved her fork deep into her chocolate éclair, much more cheerful now that she'd been upfront with Kendra and Colin about her feelings towards Draco (she'd figured she might as well call him by his first name, to herself at least, since the two had snogged.).

She'd been worried they wouldn't understand and be angered by her actions; namely, snogging Draco Malfoy, Slytherin and sworn enemy to all Gryffindors, especially Weasleys, since the beginning of her existence at Hogwarts. Luckily, she was quite wrong, as Kendra had whole-heartedly agreed that she would've done the same, when Colin wasn't listening, of course.

Ginny happily slid her fork into the steaming-hot dessert, and was just about to take her first bite when the éclair promptly disappeared, along with the rest of the food in the Hall. Annoyed, she groaned and silently cursed the house elves and their horrible timing.

"Colin, would you be a dear and sneak down to the kitchens for me?" She asked, carefully lacing her voice with sweetness and giving him her best 'I'm-so-sweet-you'll-do-anything-for-me' look. Colin laughed and shared a fleeting look with Kendra before nodding.

"Sure, love. Mind if I steal Kendra, though?" He asked standing and then helping Kendra out of her seat.

Ginny rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Off to another 'study session' before the kitchens, then?" She asked with a smirk. Kendra smiled mysteriously.

"I guess you could say that," she said, her gaze flicking briefly to Colin. Ginny noted this with slight suspicion but shook it off and stood as well, declaring that she'd meet them in the Common Room.

"After all, there's homework to be finished…in the morning. I might as well take a nap while I'm waiting for the dessert, especially if you two dolts will be 'studying.'" She said wryly, wrinkling her nose is distaste and stretching her arms above her head. She retied her coppery-red hair in its bronze-colored clasp before smiling teasingly at her two friends.

Colin sighed. "Gin, you do know that if you fail another assignment, Ron will have your head. Hard work never killed anyone-"

"Yes, but why take the risk." Ginny interrupted with a laugh. Giving a sarcastic salute, she merged into the already thinning crowd and made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Shall we?" Colin asked a moment later, offering Kendra his arm. She grinned in acceptance and allowed him to lead her through the halls, though it was surprisingly neither to the kitchens nor to the library. "We've got an appointment with two very different Weasleys." He mumbled to her as they passed a group of Hufflepuffs near the statue of the Witch.

xXxXx

"I can't believe you two are expecting that I do this." Hermione complained loudly, rolling her eyes as Ron and Harry instantly shushed her.

Harry ran a hand excitedly through his already disheveled hair before whispering, "Yes, but what do you _think_ of our plan?" Ron grinned, obviously figuring that Hermione would be as thrilled about their 'bright' idea as they appeared to be.

"I wasn't born with enough knowledge of curses to let you know what I _really_ think." Hermione hissed heatedly, before forcing herself to turn and leave the comforting safety of the Invisibility Cloak and quietly walking up the dismal, spiral staircase that led to the well-known Owlery.

Upon reaching the closed wooden door, she stopped and hastily fixed her hair, muttering a spell to smooth it as she untied the red and gold ribbon that'd been holding it up, letting the curly strands fall loose around her shoulders.

Pulling a small, cloth bag from her pocket, she plucked out a clear-colored gloss and applied it to her lips. Thinking she heard a sigh of awe, sounding suspiciously like Ron, she snapped her head back towards where she assumed the two boys stood.

"Go," she heard Harry whisper in an urging tone, coming from the complete opposite direction she'd looked. Rolling her amber eyes once more in their area, she sighed heavily before turning and pushing the heavy door open, loudly admitting her presence.

She looked around, searching for Malfoy's familiar, tall frame and, upon finding him near the window, about to send out his owl, she plastered a smile on her face. He'd glanced over his shoulder and was eyeing her strangely as she continued to grin at him and took a few steps forward.

"What do you want, Mudblood?" He asked, smirking as both her step and smile faltered.

'I can't do this,' she thought to herself, panicking that she had even agreed to this…this horrid idea. She suddenly felt a reassuring hand lightly graze her arm, though, and quickly bounced back, taking on a low, suggestive tone.

"What do I want, Malfoy? Well, I thought that was quite obvious." At his perplexed gaze, she continued softly. "You,"

Draco's smirk from earlier failed to make an appearance, and Hermione thanked Merlin she'd finally listened to some of the Patil twins' advice on getting the boys of Hogwarts to notice you.

"P-pardon?" Malfoy stuttered, his voice rising. Hermione inwardly smirked, but continued, nonetheless.

"I said," she took a step towards him. "I." Another step. "Want." At this point she was flat up against his body. "You." Draco was backed against the window frame, his letter clutched tightly in one hand, and his owl in the other.

Hermione fought the urge to laugh as his face visibly paled when she brought a hand to his cheek, running it down his face and then the length of his chest, all the while maintaining eye contact.

"Have you gone mad?" He cried, abruptly pushing her away.

'Forget it, I knew this wouldn't work. Pull it off as a joke and fight with him like normal.' She thought to herself. She smiled teasingly in response to his earlier asked question and, once again, stepped closer to him only this time, leaving plenty of space.

"Course not, Malfoy. I was only kidding! You and I are supposed to be doing our rounds tonight as Head Boy and Girl. I just had to ask whether you would be skiving off again, or if I could finally get a night off." She said in response, finally letting the laughter she'd been holding in come out.

Draco seemed downright offended that she, a muggle-born, had managed to trick him, and answered only with a glare and a rude gesture.

xXxXx

Meanwhile, under the Invisibility Cloak, Ron nudged Harry a third time.

"Harry, what's she saying? I can't believe she was touching his fac- hey, she's never done that to me!" He continued ranting, but Harry finally interrupted, thoroughly exasperated.

"Ron! Be quiet, silencing spells can only hold so much noise. Now, we still have to make sure he puts down that letter. Once he does, we'll snatch it and scare off his owl so Hermione can convince him that he's already sent it. Ron, will you quit ogling at her, now's not the time!"

xXxXx

The bell above the door jingled softly as the last customer exited. Sales had gone well that day, especially since a large group of Slytherins had managed to sneak out of Hogwarts around lunch time, leaving the once full shelves practically empty as the day had worn on.

The two, identical, red-haired owners looked around, satisfied with the day's profits. One of them, it was difficult to tell which, stepped forward and waved his wand quickly to lock the door. A moment later, the both of them set about levitating their newest items from their back room out to the display window, and then proceeded to clean the rubbish left purposely behind by the students.

"I hate those sodding Slytherins." George complained, as he tried fruitlessly to vanish the scuff marks left by their shoes off the wooden floorboards.

"Yes, but they're some of our best customers. Looks as if you'll have to do that the muggle way, mate." Fred replied grimacing.

Their attention was distracted, though, as they heard a faint knocking on the front, display window. Looking towards the area, they spotted two students, waiting anxiously to be let in, their hands cupped around their faces as they tried to peer inside through the glass.

Hurriedly, George stepped forward and unlocked the door, as Fred simultaneously silenced the bell. The two blonde teens, one a boy, the other a girl, swiftly stepped inside, brushing their feet off on the rug before walking any further. Fred then ushered them to the back room as George turned the sign hanging on the door from, 'Its open, you twits,' to 'Get the bloody hell out of here.'

"Right on time, Kendra and Colin." He muttered before joining the others in the back room.

As he entered, the curtains separating the front room from the back instantly closed, causing the room to shadow somewhat until Fred hit the room with a brightening charm, making it seem light as day. There were four chairs set around a small coffee table, giving the room a more charming atmosphere.

The walls had been painted a warm gold color, but this was hard to tell as they were completely covered in shelves. The shelves were congested with things such as potion bottles, wands (real and fake), and books on various topics. The floor, however, had been decorated with numerous pictures of the Weasley family, giving it a reddish look because of their hair.

"At first we couldn't afford any red rugs-" George started, noticing Colin's fascinated stare towards the photos.

"But then, by the time we earned enough galleons, we found we rather liked this floor design, and couldn't bear to part with it," Finished a proud looking Fred, as a hundred or so Weasleys below him nodded in agreement.

Kendra smiled and took a seat in one of the cream-colored, cushioned chairs. The others followed her lead and also took a seat. A comfortable silence took place as the four in the room took their time getting situated.

George summoned a teakettle and offered some of their infamous lemon tea to the two Gryffindors. Kendra, remembering Ginny's tales about her summers of learning not to accept anything offered by one of the Weasley twins, politely declined. As Colin leaned forward to reach for one of the yellow, china cups, she quickly whispered to him that he should also decline the tea.

Fred smirked. "Our Ginny's taught you too well." He said, laughing easily. George shrugged and, once again, waved his wand, replacing the tea with an open notebook and black quill.

"That'll record everything we say," George stated cheerfully, as the quill dutifully began writing. "It's just for business purposes, of course-"

"Legal matter and the like-" Fred added in with a grin.

"Quite similar to your muggle tape-recorders, I imagine." George said with a thoughtful expression upon his face. "Right, anyway-"

"What is it you two wanted to discuss?" Fred asked, looking interested. Colin glanced quickly at Kendra before answering.

"Well, we just had a question, but it was too important to explain in a letter, you see." He started fiddling with his hands nervously, only looking up at the twins every few words. "We, I mean Kendra and I, were wondering if you made jewelry." He said as he averted his eyes and looked about the small room.

"What kind of jewelry?" George inquired casually. As Colin was still silent, Kendra took this as a sign to speak up.

"A necklace." She said quickly, before continuing. "Three, in fact. One each for Ginny, Colin and I. With the war going on just barely outside the castle boundaries, we thought it might be wise to place locating spells on the necklaces. We could pass it off as a Christmas present, since we all know Ginny would never agree to such a thing."

Fred eyes narrowed. "She's 17, not stupid."

"Have you talked to her lately?" George asked dryly.

A moment of silence ensued as the two Weasley twins thought the request over. Then, with one look at each other, they both nodded and leaned forward, their eyes alight with excitement.

"It'll take some time-" Fred started,

"But we'll be able to do it." George added as they both stood. Colin smiled, letting out a breath of relief.

"Alright, well I've got some money saved up. I could owl it to you tomorrow, if you'd like." He said, also standing.

"Well, you know what they say. A Sickle saved-" George began.

"Isn't much." Fred concluded with a grin.

With that last, happy note, Kendra and Colin hurriedly ambled to the secret passage in Zonko's Joke Shop that would lead them back up to the school.

xXxXx

The sky had darkened increasingly fast as the sun quickly set into the far horizon. The wind began to pick up and clouds started to gather, lowering the temperature. Hermione shifted her cloak before muttering a warming charm on it and wrapping it tight around her shoulders.

She and Draco had been arguing for the past ten minutes about their head duties. Hermione had thus far been unproductive in the attempt to obtain Malfoy's letter, which was stubbornly still stuck in his tightly clenched hand.

'I need to get him angry,' she thought, desperately trying to pull out all insults she could think of. Finally she settled with one of his well-known weaknesses; his responsibility.

"Malfoy, for the last time, you _must _make your rounds tonight. I've been covering for you these past weeks, without saying a word mind you, and now I really need you to return the favor." She exclaimed, very close to begging with him. He smirked but said nothing and turned to send off his owl. Panicked, Hermione tried once more.

"Listen," she demanded firmly. "You have a very big responsibility around here." Suddenly, before he could tie the parchment to his owl's leg, he dropped it on the seal and heatedly turned toward Hermione.

"Yes, every time something goes wrong, I'm responsible!" he cried, outraged. "Did you know I've got Professors coming up to me in the halls, all complaining about some Slytherins bullying some student or other, as if somehow _I _made them do it, or somehow _I _could have stopped them?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco's letter swiftly disappear. She returned her attention to Malfoy, much more relieved now that her task was complete.

"Oh come off it, Malfoy. Just answer my question. Will you cover for me tonight since I've so graciously done so for you many occasions before?" She asked, purposely speaking slowly, indicating she thought him childish.

Draco glared indignantly, but nonetheless answered, "Alright, alright, Granger. Stop whining, it hurts my ears. As soon as I send out this le-" He stopped short as he noticed that his letter once resting on the stone window seal was now gone. "Wait a minute, where did it go?" He turned, peering at her suspiciously.

"Honestly, Malfoy." Hermione said, forcing a light chuckle. "You've already sent it out with your owl, I saw you do it myself." Rolling her eyes and laughing once more for the added effect, she quickly walked out of the Owlery, shouting a short, "Thanks," over her left shoulder.

"_Completely_ batty, that one." Malfoy muttered, utterly bewildered with her behavior.

xXxXx

Colin and Kendra hurriedly thought up excuses as Ginny made her way down the steps into the empty Common Room, leaving the girls dormitories. She'd changed into her pajamas, wearing casual, comfortable clothing that consisted of sweats and a long-sleeved Holyhead Harpies t-shirt. Her blood-red locks had been put up in a messy bun at the nape of her neck.

It wasn't her outfit, however, that drew nervousness from the two waiting Gryffindors. It was her face, which currently held two expressions; frustration, and hunger.

"Gin, before you say anything, I know I forgot your apple cobbler or whatever it was that you wanted, but er…we just…lost track of time." Colin stated weakly, looking towards Kendra for help. Ginny seemed unfazed, so Kendra quickly intervened.

"Is there something else we've done that we're unaware of?" she asked cautiously, before guiltily removing her maroon cloak and placing it on the sofa nearest to the fireplace. Colin recognized this and immediately realized that Ginny knew they hadn't just been in the library.

"Took a stroll outside, did you?" she asked in a surprisingly calm tone. A hint of sadness shone through in her chocolate-colored eyes as Colin and Kendra nodded dumbly, confused at her behavior. "Right, I think I'll do the same." She muttered quietly before brushing past her bewildered friends.

Once outside of the Common Room, she immersed herself in her thoughts and let her feet carry her without thinking of where she should go. Why had she been sad? There was nothing wrong with Colin and Kendra's relationship, so what was the reason she'd been upset?

She knew, deep down though, that she was disquieted at the fact that her two best friends were growing more and more distant from her, and now, they'd even begun hiding things from her.

While Colin and Kendra were supposedly 'studying,' Ginny had snuck up to Harry's room, intending to nick his Invisibility Cloak so she could go to the kitchens herself. Upon finding it missing, though, she'd come across the Marauders' Map instead.

Being used as a test-subject for Fred and George over the summers did have its advantages at times, as Ginny immediately remembered the phrase to work the tattered map. After whispering the well-known, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she'd searched it for Colin and Kendra out of pure habit but was dismayed to find that neither of their dots could be located within the castle grounds.

They'd never snuck off to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley before without her, and now, they'd gone and hadn't even mentioned it to her. What's more, they were lying about it!

'Okay, try and think rationally,' Ginny thought to herself. 'What reasons are there for Colin and Kendra to wander off of Hogwarts' grounds? Let's see…they could have been delivering a message for someone. No, they wouldn't be that daft to leave the school for that reason alone. It couldn't be for a present, my birthday was in August…ah, but Christmas, on the other hand, is nearly a month away.'

She smiled, easing her worries with the thought that maybe they'd decided to do some early shopping…in the middle of November…at the dead of night…when all shops would be closed. As more doubts and 'what-ifs' filled her mind, Ginny looked up and was startled to find that she was in front of the portrait guarding the Kitchens.

Shaking her concerns from her mind, she quickly stepped up to the painting and tickled the pair, faintly satisfied that it still opened after doing so. Directly, upon entering, five or six House Elves scurried up to her, all eager to please, and kindly asked her if there was anything they could help her with. She ordered one treacle tart and tiredly made her way over to the wooden tables set up.

Taking a seat on one of the comfortable chairs, she rested her arms on the table and lay her head down on them, effectively cushioning it. Her eyes grew heavy as the warmth from the fire behind her immediately soothed her nerves and relaxed her body. She might have fallen asleep had someone else not entered the Kitchens just moments later.

Slowly sitting up from her comfortable position, she turned to see who else had come for a midnight snack. Her eyes widened as they met with an all too familiar, silver pair. Malfoy had just walked in and was staring at her with an expression full of annoyance and exasperation.

Stifling a frustrated sigh at the knowledge that she would receive another detention, she nonetheless pushed out the chair across from her with her feet and motioned to him vaguely that he should sit.

He waved off the House Elves that dashed over to serve him, and stalked over to the table with a scowl on his face, giving Ginny a look of aggravation before taking a seat. A cowering Elf appeared at her elbow and timidly gave her the treacle tart she'd previously ordered.

"Weasley," Malfoy started in a somewhat strained voice as he closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "Do you not know what time your curfew is?" Ginny chose to remain silent and waited for him to continue, picking up a fork as discreetly as possible. "Just because you filled in for a Prefect one night, doesn't mean you can loiter in the hallways or the kitchens anytime you should choose."

His eyes snapped open as he heard the clanking sound of a fork hitting the plate. Ginny was just getting ready to take a bite when, with a quick swipe of his hand, Malfoy snatched both her tart and her fork and began eating _her_ dessert.

She closed her mouth in shock and gritted her teeth as he nonchalantly proceeded to finish the dessert off, not even sparing her a glance. Why, he even looked to be enjoying it! Suddenly, all thoughts of her spending hours in detention promptly vanished, as her patience began diminishing alarmingly fast.

"Mal-ferret," Ginny said heatedly as she stood from her chair. "That was _mine_."

"'Was,' being the key word, I do believe." He said cheekily, finally looking up at her, only now the irksome glint in his eye was back.

It was as if he enjoyed infuriating her.

"Since you've discovered your spine, how about we discuss why you're out past curfew, hm?" He looked supremely confident as Ginny's cheeks flushed in anger.

"Don't you think that's kind of obvious?" She spat. "I was hungry." The fire crackled loudly behind her. "I might have gotten some dessert earlier, but _no_, those blasted House Elves took the food away before I could even get one bite!"

Draco smirked as she continued venting, not even looking at him now, but instead pacing. She seemed to be forgetting who exactly she was unleashing all this to.

"Then, just when I think I _can _sneak down here, I find out that Colin and Kendra are the ones doing the sneaking. So I lost my appetite, and waited till they got back, _thinking _they would have the guts to tell me exactly where they'd been. Of course, when they did get back, they denied their even leaving Hogwarts!"

'She could be talking to You-Know-Who right now, and I don't think she'd care,' Draco thought, while absently storing the information that two Gryffindors had snuck off school grounds.

"And finally, I come down here, expecting a nice, charming Kitchen to be _empty _of people like you, only to have my attempt at eating something so good that I've been craving it all night _eaten_ by the person who's been on my mind all week!"

Draco blinked and Ginny quickly realized her slip. Stuttering, she tried to cover it up before he interrupted.

"Really, Weasley, there's no need to be ashamed. It's not as if you're the first girl I've snogged. You should be proud actually, not many Gryffindor girls have had the courage to do that." He said cockily while gracefully standing and handing her plate to the nearest House Elf.

Ginny's anger came back in full speed. "_You _made the first move, not me."

"Don't flatter yourself." He said with a roll of his eyes. Ginny appeared shocked.

"You're trying to tell me that you didn't feel anything when we…er, you know? Not a spark?"

Malfoy chuckled before answering. "Honestly, Ginevra, are you implying that you fancy me now? That's just pitiful." Then, Ginny did the only thing she could think of to prove her point. She moved over to where he stood and kissed him intensely.

After a few stunned seconds, he hurriedly began kissing back, allowing Ginny to smile triumphantly as she pulled away. She eyed him haughtily, knowing she'd won that small battle.

"Got nothing to say, Draco?" He remained silent, his face impassive as Ginny laughed, though there was no humor in it. "I know. Why don't you talk down to me again, remind me how _pathetic_ I am and how _perfect_ you are." He looked somewhat disappointed at her comment.

He stepped towards her, and slowly brought his lips closer towards her own. "I'm far from perfect, Ginevra," He whispered, his lips brushing against hers. Ginny's eyes fluttered shut as she closed the distance between them and kissed him deeply.

xXxXx

"What's it say Harry?" Hermione asked quietly as Harry fumbled with the parchment.

It seemed Malfoy had expected someone might try to interfere and end up reading his letter. He'd jinxed it with a nose-bleed spell, as was found out by Ron who was currently drinking a Blood Replenishing potion given to him by Madame Pomfrey.

The three Gryffindors were sitting on Ron's bed in the Hospital Wing waiting for Harry to open the letter. He'd been cautiously unfolding it for several minutes, as to avoid anymore defensive spells.

"Will you hurry it up, mate?" Ron finally asked exasperated, as he swallowed another dose of the potion with a grimace.

"Alright, Ron, just a second." Harry said, fixing his glasses and shakily spreading the letter on the bed so the three of them could all read it.

_Dear Lucius,_

_In response to your aforementioned request, I'm writing to inform _

_you that I accept and will comply to your instructions during our _

_next meeting over Christmas._

_Respectfully, _

_Draco_

xXxXx

A/N: Well that was a long chapter! I know it took me a long time to update, and I could start apologizing by listing off 43753983 excuses…but I thought that would take a rather long time, and you might stop reading, so instead I made this chapter waaay long. Hope you all enjoyed it!

Jade Summers: Hope this chapter had enough Draco-ness for you, I did try to fill it up. Especially after I received your stamp! I was so excited I stopped being lazy and posted this chapter! Thanks so much for that. Hope your vacation went well!

moony's number one: The summary is basically an outlook from the first chapter and, when it's posted, the ending chapter. In the beginning of chapter one, the prologue, you find out that Ginny is in a cell for a reason you aren't yet aware of. The rest of the story is in the past, but she's remembering the events that led to her being in a cell. More explanation will offered as the chapters continue, so I hope you keep reading!

I just want to say thanks to all the readers who, though they haven't reviewed, they've put this story under Story Alert, or even me under Author Alert. Knowing that there's more than just one person out there who's interested enough in my story to give it a chance really encourages me to keep going.

If you like to comment on this chapter, or if you just want to drop a line, please review!

Sunflour


	10. Chapter Nine

A/N: Excuses at this point would be pointless…lets just get on with the next chapter, shall we?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Nine:**

Silence. Painful, agonizing, uncomfortable, and bitter silence.

Ginny could take it no more. For the whole day, neither Colin nor Kendra had spoken one word to her, and to be perfectly honest, it was starting to tick Ginny off.

The morning after her kiss with Draco, he'd walked briskly to the Gryffindor table to inform Kendra, Colin and Ginny that they were_ all_ to serve detention that night; Ginny for being out past curfew, Colin and Kendra for leaving school grounds without permission.

Had she really been so careless during her brief tirade in the Kitchens?

Apparently, yes. Her friends, who were still not speaking with her, were none to happy, all because of that tiny, microscopic slip. She'd been pushed to the edge of the cliff of patience, her foot dangling precariously off its verge. So close was she to giving up with the whole issue, ready to forgive and forget, when, in all his glory, the prat from Slytherin entered into the scene. All it took was one nudge from him and she was sent flying off the cliff and into a pointless rant.

History of Magic was even more boring than usual. As Colin was still refusing to talk with Ginny, she thought it would be inappropriate to casually lounge across his section of the desk, as she normally did. Instead, she sat straight up in her chair (a first, if you will believe), her back stiff with anxiety as the silence between she and her best friend continued.

Sneaking in a quick glance, she saw that Colin seemed completely at ease, with no problems what so ever. If a student from another house were to look upon the two Gryffindors, they wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary, except for the one thing that gave it away.

They both appeared to be taking notes.

The only person in the whole castle who took notes in History of Magic was Hermione Granger, and even she had been caught doodling once or twice. Taking a closer look, however, you would find that Ginny and Colin's notes were totally opposite. While Colin's actually connected somewhat with the topic Professor Binns was lecturing, Ginny's were filled with scratched out and marked through rough drafts.

Some had been the beginnings of an apology, but became confused and even unreadable as they continued on.

_Dear Col and Ken,_

_I don't know how I can even begin to apologize explain how angry sorry I am that you've taken this so personally seriously, why does it even matter?_

By the end of the class period, Ginny had burned every single parchment that started with the lines, _Dear Col ad Ken_. You know what they say,

'If at first you don't succeed, give no evidence that you tried.'

Well, something close to that at least. The bell signaled the end of class, and Ginny practically leapt out from her seat, hastily shoving and pushing her way through the group of students attempting to exit, desperate to leave the sullen atmosphere of the classroom.

Today, she would walk alone to her next class.

xXxXx

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!" A shrill voice sounded, echoing throughout the school grounds.

Ginny had received the familiar family barn-owl at dinner, which was most unusual, as the post normally came during breakfast. Following the owl's departure, Ginny had raced out the Great Hall doors, ignoring the glares of students walking by, and used her last bout of energy to make it outside just as her Howler began shouting.

Out of breath, Ginny dropped the red envelope and let it continue its message from her mother as she leant over to catch her breath. That could've been embarrassing.

"_ANOTHER_ DETENTION? WHERE HAS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY GONE? And to think I had to hear from Professor Snape, OF ALL PEOPLE! Luckily, for you, I've talked to the Headmaster already and he's agreed to lift your suspension from the Quidditch team. ONE MORE MISTAKE, however, and you'll wish you never put one TOE out of line, do you hear me Ginevra? I BROUGHT YOU INTO THIS WORLD, AND I CAN JUST AS EASILY TAKE YOU OUT!" Molly seemed to have gone hoarse as there was a moment of silence.

"Oh, and Ginny? Would you be a dear and watch out for Ron? I do worry about him even more than you as he isn't always as…er…wise when it comes to making the right choices. Your father sends his love, dearie. DON'T FORGET WHAT I'VE TOLD YOU!" The letter promptly burned up in flames before settling on the grass in a pile of ashes. Ginny let out a breath of relief.

"Quite a family I've got. Batty, the whole lot." She muttered to herself before picking up her school bag and starting back to the castle. Her walk was halted, though, when a pestering voice startled her.

"You call them a family, I call them an infestation." Malfoy drawled from behind her. Ginny turned around to see him walking away from the shadows of the tree by the lake with the customary smirk etched into his face.

"Is eavesdropping your forte now?" Ginny asked exasperated as she tucked a loose hair behind her ear and continued walking to the castle, except now with a slightly slower pace waiting for him to catch up. 'Might as well get the expected confrontation over with,' she thought to herself.

He chuckled. "Surprisingly no, though that was quite a good show your mother put on. I should try listening in on other people's personal affairs more often." He smirked and Ginny roller her eyes. "What? You can snog me but you can't talk to me?" Her shoulders tensed at his sarcasm.

"First off, you gave Colin and Kendra _detentions_! Why would I even _want_ to talk to you? And second, don't you dare bring up that kiss, it didn't even mean anything and you know it! I only did it to prove a point." She spat at him heatedly. They'd reached the doors and Ginny was just reaching for the handle when he placed a hand quickly on her wrist.

"Wait, you can't possibly be blaming your friends' detention on me." He started. "You're the one who blurted it out in the Kitchens that they'd left school grounds, _after curfew_, might I add." She threw her hands in the air and groaned. "I'm not finished, you know." He snapped.

"It _sounds_ like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying." Ginny near shouted.

"Oh, shove off, will you?" Draco barked. Furious, Ginny brushed off his arm still holding her wrist and roughly pushed through the doors, stalking down to the dungeons where her detention was to be held.

xXxXx

Snape's eyes held an expression of contempt as he opened the door to his classroom for Ginny. All other staff members had been unavailable to watch over the three Gryffindors that night, so the punishment was left for Professor Snape to decide. 'Not like he had any other plans,' Ginny thought dryly.

"Miss Weasley," he said curtly. "You're to join your friends in scrubbing the cauldrons and desks with toothbrushes, and then you can all take turns between cleaning the floors and re-organizing my supply closet. Wand please," He ordered in a gleeful tone. Ginny scowled and reluctantly handed her only weapon of defense to him, before walking slowly over to where Colin and Kendra stood waiting in the corner.

"You waited for me?" Ginny asked hopefully. Neither Colin nor Kendra said anything, so Snape spoke for them instead.

"I told them that if I caught the two of them beginning their work before you arrived, than I would make sure their detentions would last until they graduated. Needless to say, they abided with those terms." He said, before adding with a smirk. "It's almost as if they didn't want to be in your presence, Weasley. I thought the day would never come."

A look of hurt came across Ginny's face as she sent a quick glare at the Potions Master, though he ignored her outright and began grading the papers that littered his cluttered desk. When she turned and looked at Colin and Kendra's faces, however, she could just barely discern a pitying glance from the two before they each went to retrieve their toothbrushes.

Five minutes later, the only sound filling the room was that of Snape's quill marking red over any mistake his picky eyes could possibly find, and the three toothbrushes scrubbing the cauldrons with a vengeance. Ginny couldn't take it anymore.

"Are you really mad at me?" She asked weakly, not taking her eyes off her task.

Snape sighed. "I thought we'd already established this, Miss Weasley."

"Excuse me, _Professor_, but I do believe she was talking to us." Colin said, his voice low in anger.

"You'll watch your tone when you talk to me, Mister Creevy." Snape said curtly, but nonetheless went back to grading and remained quiet. Colin turned and offered a small smile to Ginny, who gratefully returned it before beginning to scrub again.

"No, Gin, we're not mad at you, exactly," Kendra began quietly. "We just don't get why you would rat us out and then expect things to be normal." Ginny dropped her toothbrush and faced them, leaning her side against the table.

"What are you talking about, rat you out? You're missing a big part of the story. See what happened was-"

"Weasley," Snape interrupted. "When were you informed that this was a social gathering?" He smirked as she quieted. Ginny leant over and snatched the toothbrush indignantly from the ground where she'd dropped it. Scrubbing rapidly in larger circles, she made her way from the cauldrons to the desks and continued skimming over the small tables until she was directly in front of Snape's table. Kendra and Colin looked on curiously.

Looking fleetingly at her two friends in the corner, she gave a quick wink before turning and casually scrubbing the desk as loud as was possible. The professor looked up from his markings, narrowing his eyes at her. Ginny glanced up and flashed him a smile, but persisted in forcing her toothbrush to sound as raucous as it would allow.

Snape continued looking at her and gave an over exaggerated sigh. Met still with the plaguing grating of the toothbrush, Snape cleared his throat loudly.

"Yes, Professor?" Ginny asked innocently. He set down his quill and folded his hands on the desk.

"Is there a reason why you insist on being utterly obnoxious? Do I need to give you a set of rules for this detention to pass without further interruption?" He appeared to be losing his patience quite quickly.

"Oh, that would be lovely," Ginny said, taking a seat and abandoning her task. "It'll be just like class, except I'm actually listening and working right now." Kendra coughed over what sounded much like a snort. Snape glared, but surprisingly stood from his chair, picked up his wand, and began writing on the board behind him.

"Rule number one," He began in a growl, reading aloud as he wrote. "Don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't touch me, and don't even breathe near me." Ginny looked thoughtful as she studied his rules. She tapped her chin, her head tilted.

"Is there a catch?" She asked. Snape looked ready to pull his hair out.

"Of course there's a catch. There's always a catch, isn't there, Weasley?" He ground out forcefully. Ginny nodded enthusiastically. Stiffly turning, he once again began writing, only this time in big letters.

"You can talk to me only if I first initiate conversation." He turned with a smirk and sat down again, looking triumphant as he set to finish correcting the essays. "And people say I'm not fair." He muttered stoically.

Ginny stood and walked to the back of the room to grab a cauldron and carried it over to her previous desk.

Snape sighed. "Farther, Weasley, you're breathing too close to me." Ginny smiled and moved one row back. "Further," His tone was becoming icy. She moved another row back. "MISS WEASLEY," he roared. She looked at him with a passive expression, stopping mid-scrub.

"Yes Professor?" He sent her a scalding look. Looking over at Colin and Kendra, who, at his heated glare, hurriedly went back to work, he then turned back to Ginny.

"Fine," he spat. "I will allow you five minutes to speak to your friends if you promise to leave after doing so and _do not_ come back until class tomorrow." The redhead nodded with a jubilant expression. "And in class tomorrow, I want you to kindly sit in the seat that is farthest from my desk and keep your trap shut, is that clear?" Ginny gave a final nod before jumping up and joining her friends. They pulled over chairs and sat down as she began recounting the previous night's events.

"You two snogged _again_?" Colin asked, shocked. She'd finished explaining why she'd slipped but as soon as she'd brought up Malfoy, they'd decided to forgive her and quickly threw her questions about their argument.

"No," Ginny corrected, "I kissed him first, to prove a point of course, and _then_ we snogged." She gave a sheepish grin. Colin rolled his eyes and moved his chair back to the desk he retrieved it from, then walked to the supply closet beginning to organize.

After making sure he was out of earshot, Kendra leaned in and whispered excitedly, "What was it like?" Ginny laughed and was just about to describe it when suddenly, Snape stood from his chair and glared shrewdly at Ginny. He looked like he was about to vomit.

"As much as I'd love to hear the exquisite qualities of Mister Malfoy's…extracurricular activities," He said in a slightly strangled voice. "I do believe your five minutes are up. Please leave. Now," He added, and pointed desperately towards the door.

"Oh, and one more thing, Weasley," He added quickly. Ginny looked at him inquiringly. "When wizards do discover the center of the universe, don't be surprised, my dear, to find that it isn't you. You won't always get what you want," He finished with a stiff scowl.

The two girls laughed, but Ginny stood anyway and grabbed her bag, walking towards the door. Right as she was leaving, she turned once more to blow Professor Snape a kiss, and then ran out the door, fearing for her life from the look of anger on her teacher's face.

"Bloody horror, that one." Snape muttered to himself, running a distressed hand through his hair. Colin and Kendra had to retrain themselves from bursting in another round of laughter.

xXxXx

"Ginny, darling, did you miss me?" Colin asked, grandly sweeping into the Common Room, with an amused looking Kendra following immediately behind. They both walked over to the chair by the fireplace where Ginny was waiting with extra blankets. It was well past midnight, but she'd still felt guilty about her friends getting the detention so she'd waited for them.

Kendra jumped onto the oversized, maroon chair next to Ginny, as Colin stood in front of them and suavely studied his nails. Ginny laughed.

"You know, Col, sometimes you make it hard to hate you." She said fondly. He tossed his hair from his eyes and eyed Ginny haughtily.

"I know, its part of my charm," He said with a smirk.

"And sometimes you make it easy," Ginny said with a shake of her head as she and Kendra began pelting Colin with pillows. He eventually retaliated by not only squealing like a girl, but stealing their wands, conjuring about a dozen more pillows, and whacking them until they collapsed to the floor with laughter. Colin tossed the wands on a nearby table and joined them on the ground as their laughter subsided.

"Right, so Gin, when you kissed Malfoy, did you feel a 'spark' as you so dreamily put it like the last time?" Kendra asked with a yawn as she situated herself so that her head was resting on Colin's stomach.

Ginny waited before answering, and instead took Kendra's lead and lay her head upon Kendra's stomach, as Colin moved to put his on Ginny's, so that the three were all close enough to talk in a whisper and still hear each other.

"I think so," She answered uncertainly. "It all happened so fast, but there was just so much…passion maybe? I can't help but think that it might've meant even a little bit to him too." The light from the fire began diminishing as it died down to mere embers sparkling in the darkness of the expansive room.

Colin sighed. "Gin, just promise me one thing." He muttered a brief, '_Accio_,' and the three blankets Ginny had left out came flying over to where they lay, landing effortlessly on each Gryffindor.

"Hmm?" Ginny murmured tiredly, beginning to drift off. She let her heavy eyelids close, scarcely registering what Colin said next.

"Don't fall in love with the prat," he mumbled. Hearing nothing but silence in response, he allowed himself to slip into a peaceful sleep.

This was how their fellow Gryffindors found them in the morning; surrounded by pillows, but cuddled together on the carpeted floors, with three tattered blankets tucked around each of them.

The second year girls sighed enviously as they watched Kendra snuggle closer to Colin, and him as he dug himself further into the softness of Ginny's robes. Ginny's eyes fluttered open slowly, but her expression became confused as she looked up to find the house of Gryffindor scurrying about the room getting ready for the day. She nudged Kendra in the side.

"Die," Kendra said in a muffled voice. Ginny smiled.

"It's time to get up, classes start soon." She said sitting up, forgetting that Colin's head was still on her stomach. He woke with a yelp as his head roughly hit the ground.

"Die twice." Kendra muttered in response. Colin chuckled as he ruefully rubbed his head before standing up and helping Ginny up. Then he moved and pulled Kendra to her feet as well when she lazily stuck her hands out at him, still not opening her eyes, but instead kept them determinedly shut.

"Do you really think Malfoy is all that attractive?" He asked her worriedly as she began rubbing the sleep out of her bleary eyes. Kendra laughed at how random the question seemed, but remembered that this had been bothering him for some time. He'd constantly been bringing it up, begging her to give him an honest answer. She'd always silenced him by kissing him.

"Let's just put it this way, shall we? If the dolt said breathing was ridiculous, more than half of the female population at Hogwarts alone would be dead." She said, hastily planting a kiss on his cheek and hurrying to her dorm with Ginny as Colin stood openmouthed.

xXxXx

Professor Snape surveyed his classroom and the students it held, pausing every now and then to criticize the few Gryffindors that chose to be in Advanced Potions for their seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He rolled his eyes as a plump boy with the name of Neville Longbottom raised his hand tentatively.

"Yes Mister Longbottom?" Snape called with a sneer. Neville lowered his hand but couldn't seem to form the words he wanted so desperately to say. "Shock me, say something intelligent." The teacher said exasperatedly, receiving sniggers from the Slytherin side and glares from the Gryffindor area.

"I-I was j-just wonder-ring," the terrified boy gulped loudly and Snape refrained from out right screaming at the lad. "Do we have a-any homework? The b-bell's just near to ringing." His fellow Gryffindors groaned at him for reminding their Potion's teacher as Snape smiled evilly.

"Yes, I was just about to get to that." He began, speaking now to the entire class. "I had previously decided to assign you all _two_ scrolls on the Draught of Living Death, but since Mister Longbottom here seems to think I've become ancient and absentminded, let's make it _three_ to refresh you're memories, shall we?"

"Nice job, Neville," Seamus Finnegan complained loudly as he began gathering his books. Snape shook his head and walked over to the student's desk. Seamus looked up hesitantly.

"Mister Finnegan, please refrain from insulting your fellow classmates." The Professor stated calmly as several students stopped to watch with curiosity. "Everybody makes mistakes, take your parents for example…" He trailed off as Seamus' face turned red in anger. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter jumped from their seats to restrain their friend.

"Ah, yes, Mister Potter," Snape looked at him with a cruel smile. "I'm returning this otherwise good parchment to you because someone has written gibberish all over it and signed your name at the top." Harry clenched his jaw but nonetheless took the offered essay back and placed it sorely with his other papers Snape had, 'returned.'

"And Mister Weasley, I was mildly surprised when I read yours. Class, this should be taken as an example. If you would like to read this particular parchment, I'd like to first politely give you my own opinion." Ron waited apprehensively as Snape picked up his paper and held it up to show to the class.

"This is not an essay to be tossed aside lightly," Snape began, surprising Ron. "It should be thrown aside with great force, and promptly burnt into flames." The Slytherins were once again sent into fits of mocking laughter, as Ron's face flushed in embarrassment.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class period, and Seamus, having finally cooled off, roughly threw his books into his bag and stormed out of the room, followed by several irate looking Gryffindors.

"Mister Malfoy," Snape summoned. The boy complied and walked placidly to where the teacher stood. "I was overseeing a detention last night and heard something most peculiar." Draco had the grace to look confused. "Miss Bentley, Mister Creevy and Miss Weasley's detention, to be more thorough." He provided and was satisfied to see a certain amount of guilt flicker in the young Slytherin's silver eyes.

"Yes, and what about them?" Draco snapped. Snape gave him a calculating look before taking a seat at his desk and conjuring another chair for the student. Resignedly, Draco sat, looking longingly at the door, but switched quickly back to an impassive expression.

Snape remained quiet and closed his eyes, focusing only on trying to enter Draco's mind. He was close, just a bit more concentration. Swimming through fields of emotions, he tried to pick apart what exactly he wanted to see. Suddenly, as if a barrier had closed directly in front of his face, he was thrown from the boy's mind and opened his eyes to find himself back in his dreary Potion's classroom.

"Don't do that again." Draco ground out, looking tired as he massaged his temples. Snape leaned back in his chair.

"Well then answer my questions." He answered just as curtly.

"You didn't ask a question though," Draco said after a momentary silence.

"I was being rhetorical, do what I mean, not what I say." Snape explained quickly.

"Is this any of your business?" Draco snapped, beginning to stand.

Snape held up a hand. "No, but since when has that ever stopped me?" Draco smirked, but said nothing. He rose from his chair, retrieved his bag, and conjured an excuse note for his next class. He'd reached the door when Snape once again interrupted him.

"Just one more thing, Malfoy," he began. "Take this as a bit of advice. Ignorance is a shield protecting you from reality. Sooner or later, you'll have to start taking responsibility for your actions. Don't let me, or worse, your father, hear of this happening again."

And with that somber statement, Draco Malfoy carried on to his next class with a permanent scowl etched into his face, a scowl that would stay there for the remainder of the day…that is until he met up with Ginny Weasley.

xXxXx

A/N: I'm not so sure I like this chapter…not much happened. Well, this one gets it moving for the next one I suppose. Your comments on it would be much appreciated :-D! Thanks to a lovely lady named Dolly Parker who wrote a very comical review for a book. You can blame Snape's sarcasm on her as she influenced me to think…sarcastic.

Jade Summers: Such big words in your last review! My, how quickly they do grow…eh, yes sorry, anyway. I think I like the corny Jade Summers, makes me quite cheerful when I read your reviews.  I wonder, is Draco still in character? Or have I brought him too far out of the loop…just curious on your opinion.

Moony's Number 1: is Draco a spy…hmm…well I can't very well give it away now that I know that you don't know what I know…which you still don't know and won't know until future chapters. And if you think that's bribing you to keep reading and reviewing…well then you are right!

Make me happy, leave some love…or criticism, whatever floats your boat I guess.


	11. Chapter Ten

A/N: I know you're all shocked. It hasn't been many months, or long weeks since my last update, but I had the extra time so I thought I might as well post another chapter. It's a start to updating more quickly and really getting this story going…hopefully.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Ten:**

"What are you _talking_ about?" Ron asked incredulously. "The Chudley Cannons are _destined_ to win the Cup this year!" Harry scoffed in response, and Hermione grumbled under her breath about the immaturity of boys obsessed with Quidditch as they continued arguing on who they thought would 'win it all,' that year.

The three had been lingering outside Draco's Transfiguration class for the last ten minutes waiting for the bell to signal the end of the period. Dumbledore had sent for Harry, asking him what he knew about the Slytherin's plans. After guiltily explaining that he'd included Ron and Hermione in the event, he'd quickly extracted from his pocket the now well-worn note and handed it to the Headmaster.

Dumbledore's face had turned first thoughtful, then grave, then thoughtful again, until finally he asked Harry to go get Draco. Harry had hurriedly grabbed Ron and Hermione and the three of them had traveled to the hallway outside of Professor McGonagall's classroom, thinking of excuses to pull the prat away from the crowd without attracting much attention.

Finally, the bell sounded and Hermione sighed in relief as she saw the overconfident Slytherins and trembling Hufflepuffs beginning to pour out. Squinting her eyes, Hermione scanned the mass of students for an icy blonde head. She found him with a scowl on his face, looking extremely irked as Pansy Parkinson continued clinging on his arm, oblivious to his annoyance.

"Malfoy," Hermione shouted, and smirked when she saw the tiniest amount of relief fill his eyes as he quickly slid away from Pansy, but frowned when she saw the agitated look return. He nodded at her with a sneer.

"Granger, Weasley…Potter," He spat with venom. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Ron glared in response, his face becoming slightly flushed. Hermione shook her head, all he'd done was rudely greet them and already Ron was in a sour mood.

"I see you and Parkinson have become quite close," Ron said with a smirk. Draco looked genuinely sickened by this statement.

"Is there a reason you've singled me out? Conversation with you three is about as appealing as kissing Trelawney's shoes." He said, casually shoving a third year Ravenclaw into a wall after the student had run into him.

"Do that often, do you?" Harry retorted angrily, fingering his wand leisurely. Hermione sighed, giving the two boys on either side of her a light nudge. She waited till the halls became loud enough that they wouldn't be overheard, and crowded enough that they wouldn't be noticed before deliberately stepping next to Malfoy and snatching his wand.

"Granger-" He growled, but stopped mid-insult when she immediately gave it back time, but as she gave it to him he felt a folded piece of parchment along with his wand. Noticing Blaise Zambini standing a little off to the side waiting for him and watching the exchange with curiosity, he put a smirk back on his face.

"Sorry, but I don't like you like that," He said. "In fact, I rather think I don't like you at all." Ron quickly stepped in front of Hermione as a hurt look crossed her face, but Draco had already begun walking away.

xXxXx

It had taken Draco a further ten minutes to convince Zambini that he was going to the Hospital Wing to snitch a headache potion, and another fifteen after that because he knew the git was following him so he'd actually had to go inside the Hospital Wing. Glancing out the window, he'd been able to determine that Zambini was leaving and spotted him just as he rounded the corner away from the Wing.

Finally arriving at the Headmaster's office, he pulled the note Hermione had previously given him and muttered the written password.

"Lemon Drops and Acid Pops," he said tartly, not moving a muscle as the gargoyles leapt aside. He tiredly walked up the steps and knocked on the door, and after hearing the anticipated, "Come in," he walked with an air of confidence into the office.

"Ah, yes. Good afternoon Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore greeted politely. Draco nodded in response and took a seat in the offered chair, declining a piece of candy. Seeing that the Slytherin wasn't willing to initiate any conversation, the Headmaster got right down to it and produced the parchment Harry had given him.

"I do believe you will recognize this," He said, a twinkle in his eye. Draco pursed his lips but said nothing. "I called on you to inquire what exactly this meant." Dumbledore leant forward, his glasses sliding down somewhat as he looked pensively at Draco.

"I assume you already know, otherwise you would've have sent someone other than Potter and his sidekicks to fetch me," Draco said curtly, his hands gripping the arms of the chairs in suppressed frustration.

The man sighed. "Indeed. In that case, I'll only offer you these to take with you over the holidays. Consider it an early Christmas gift," he said kindly, giving him two small, carefully wrapped gifts and watching as Draco looked at them inquiringly. As he began to open one, however, Dumbledore stopped him.

"I suggest you wait until you arrive at the Manor to open it. Just a suggestion, of course," He said, before standing and moving towards the door.

Draco stood as well, putting the items in his bag and pocketing the letter so he could re-send it later. As the Headmaster held open the door for him, he nodded grimly, the scowl returning on his face as he left.

xXxXx

A sizeable cloud was slowly, but surely, drifting over Hogwarts. It was grey in color and hung low over the trees of the Forbidden Forest, wrapping its icy temperatures around their branches. There were streaks of white hues, mixed in with ethereal looking shades of silver. The frost licked at the leaves' edges, before passing over them and inching ever more close to the school itself.

Ginny took all this in without a second thought, thinking only of the biting cold as she burrowed deeper within her cloak. Despite her repeated warming charms, she could not keep warm. It didn't seem to matter all that much to her though, as she continued to sit underneath the tree by the lake.

It was just after dinner and Ginny had traversed outside looking for a place to sketch. She'd never been much of an artist, and hardly ever practiced her drawing skills. During dinner that night, however, she'd smiled in remembrance of past Decembers when the teachers had begun putting up decorations, as they were doing again that night.

There was a traditional sentiment about it all that had caused a warm feeling to settle into Ginny's stomach. She'd watched in fascination as Professor McGonagall had conjured a layered frost to settle on the window panes with practiced care.

It was nothing overzealous, just a few trinkets here and there, reminding all students that Christmas was hardly a month away. Ginny had merely noticed the young first year students beginning to glow with anticipation for the upcoming holidays, when she'd suddenly had the random impulse to capture their simple, yet genuine expressions.

Acknowledging that she hardly had the talent to do something that, though it sounded effortless, took great time, concentration, and dedication, she'd told her friends she was off for a walk, grabbed her bag, and went outside to be alone.

Deciding that a drawing of a section of the castle would be a good place to start, she'd begun sketching the Great Doors with the towers and the great clouds in the background, remembering to press lightly on her pencil at first. That way, if she made any mistakes, they could easily be discarded and drawn over. She furrowed her brow, glancing up for reference, as she came to a difficult area to discern properly.

There were numerous shadows in the ancient building, especially when you looked at them from a distance. She was trying to draw the depression in the frame, but couldn't seem to get the shape right. Ginny tried once more before growling, frustrated, as it now looked more like a cartoon than realistic.

She snapped her head to the left as she heard a twig break. It was Draco, and stifling a gasp, she couldn't help but stare. The cold weather certainly suited him. His cheeks were slightly flushed, his hair falling softly around his face. The light illuminating from the castle caused his hair to glow, giving him a fallen-angle appearance.

"You need to give it an arch," He said with a smirk, noting her gaze.

"What?" Ginny asked dumbly, shaking her head to clear her previous thoughts.

"The drawing," He explained, crouching down next to her and lightly taking the sketch from her hands. "You want it to look more practical right?" Ginny nodded. "Give it an arch, right there, above the hollow of the door." He said, reaching out to point, before handing it back to her and standing, casually putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against the tree.

Taking his word on it, Ginny did as he advised and drew in a bold arch above the door. Holding it out in front of her to get a better view, she was startled to see that it now looked more life-like, with only a few minor mishaps here and there.

"You were right," She whispered, still astonished.

"Now those were three words wasted," He answered, his scowl returning, though it was more sarcastic than anything else.

Ginny looked up at him skeptically. "Since when did you become the artist?" He shrugged, turning and facing the lake. Ginny took that as his answer and went back to her landscape, beginning to erase a few things she'd looked over.

"My mum knew a thing or two about art, taught me some before she passed," Draco said quietly, still not looking at her. Ginny dropped her pencil and waited for him to continue. When he said nothing, she sighed and resignedly closed her sketch book.

"It's been 15 seconds and we haven't argued," she commented, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's been 20, shut it." He snapped and Ginny rolled her eyes at his immaturity.

"No need to get hostile," She said with a huff as she placed her things in her bag and stood, leaning against the tree as Draco was doing, though she didn't find the lake half as fascinating as he seemingly did.

"You know me, hostility makes me shrink up like a… I can't think of a non-sexual metaphor," He said, with a mock surprised expression on his face.

Ginny scoffed. "What a shame," She muttered dryly, before taking a deep breath. Smelling something familiar, she stepped away from the tree, looked up at the sky, and took another breath, inhaling deeply. She did this twice more before noticing his bewildered stare.

"Are you having a heart attack?" Draco asked, looking alarmed. God forbid he'd have to help her. Ginny laughed.

"Snow," she said simply.

"Pardon?" He asked roughly, his expression unchanging as he too stepped away from the tree but continued contemplating her. Ginny twirled giddily, spreading her arms out as Draco dodged her. "Weasley," He barked. She stopped abruptly and looked at him with a grin on her face.

"Can't you smell it?" She asked exasperatedly. He raised an eyebrow. "It's going to snow, I can tell." Her voice took on a dreamy expression that sounded too much like Luna Lovegood for Draco not to roll his eyes.

"You sense this, do you?" He asked caustically. Ginny nodded, gesturing at the great clouds now gathered above their heads. He looked up and narrowed his eyes, barely discerning the specks beginning to fall slowly down to them.

Glancing at the Gryffindor from the corner of his eye, he expected to see her smug, but instead saw that she had a peaceful expression. The snow contrasted so greatly to her blood-red hair that he couldn't help but think that she was at least decent looking…for a Gryffindor. She grinned as a flake landed on her eyelashes, her face glowing in childish delight.

He hastily looked away, feeling like he hadn't the privilege to see such a sight. He cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Anyone who told you to be yourself, couldn't have given you worse advice," He muttered under his breath. Ginny looked quickly at him, an injured look flashing in her chocolate colored eyes before anger replaced it.

"You're not as bad as people say, you're much, _much_ worse," She spat, stepping over to the tree to grab her bag so she could leave. Draco's eyes widened in surprise and he was stunned to feel a small amount of guilt beginning to pit in his stomach. Feeling the eerie need to mend her hurt feelings, he hurriedly muttered a spell under his breath, pointing his wand at the falling flakes, while absently curing his sudden appearance of a conscience.

Ginny was just beginning to walk, throwing the Slytherin a look of contempt. Her expression quickly changed into one of curiosity as she stopped to watch what he was doing. Though there was snow drifting to the ground all around her, the ones falling around him had paused mid-air, as if frozen, glistening in their moisture.

"How'd you do that?" Ginny whispered, inching closer. Draco shushed her but motioned her nearer. Gently taking her hand as she stood next to him, he faced her palm upward directly underneath one of the still flakes. He muttered yet another spell under his breath, and Ginny gasped as the snow not only started moving again, but got bigger until it was nearly the size of her palm.

The one that had previously been above her hand now softly landed on it. It was breathtaking in sight, with its snow crystals clumped together forming plate-like arms, and layered with numerous ice ridges. So fragile and delicate that she had trouble keeping her trembling hands from shattering it.

Ginny grinned and looked up, but was jolted to find that Draco was gone. She glanced towards the castle just in time to see the Great Doors slam shut.

"Sodding git," She mumbled, but nonetheless cast a permanent freezing charm on the flake before tucking it in her bag and heading back towards the castle.

xXxXx

A loud smack echoed throughout the common room, causing many to turn and stare as Colin held the back of his head and glared at his girlfriend.

"Oi!" He hollered. "What the bleeding hell was that for?"

"How come you never do anything romantic like that for me?" Kendra cried, and then turned to wave off the crowd of spectators beginning to gather, expecting a fight.

Ginny had hurried back to the Common Room, and upon arriving after a fleeting utterance of the password, looked for Colin and Kendra so she could immediately tell them what happened.

Kendra's eyes had glazed over as Ginny had pulled out the frozen snow flake to show them as proof.

She'd held it in her own hands so carefully, that Ginny had struggled not to laugh. Colin, however, had doubts. Still rubbing at his head, though every now and then he would direct an affectionate smirk at Kendra, he glanced towards Ginny.

"Why, though?" He asked, leaving the Gryffindor in question looked perplexed.

"What do you mean why?" Ginny asked with a sigh, taking a seat next to her two friends on the floor by the comforting fire. Kendra slowly and tediously handed the snow crystal back to Ginny before conjuring blankets for the three of them.

Colin frowned. "Why the sudden change of…character? Think about it, Gin. This is Draco _Malfoy_ we're talking about here." He rolled his eyes as Kendra and Ginny immediately shushed him, frantically looking around the Common Room for Ron or anyone else that might've overheard. Not seeing anyone, they nodded at Colin to continue, though he understood the intended warning.

"All I'm saying is," He whispered, leaning in closer to the girls so they could hear him. "What reason would he have to apologize for insulting you? Sure, he didn't say it outright, but enlarging a falling snow flake? Honestly, he's completely fooling you, Gin." His hands shot up to fend off Kendra's smacks.

"You always ruin the mood," She muttered with a glare at Colin and shooting a sympathizing glance at Ginny.

Colin laughed, but retorted defensively, "I'm only looking out for her, Ken. 'sides, you know its true. Don't try and convince yourself he has feelings all of a sudden. If you kicked him in the heart, you'd break your toe."

"Sorry Gin, but I have to agree with Colin on that one. What do you see in him, anyway to make you continuously snog him?" Kendra asked softly. Ginny thought for a moment before answering.

"I don't know," she said truthfully. "I guess all I want is for _one_ guy to prove to me that they aren't _all_ the same, you know? Not including you of course, Col." She added hastily.

Colin sighed and reached over to rub her back comfortingly. Ginny leaned her head against Kendra's shoulder as she spoke again.

"It's a hopeless cause though, isn't it?" She asked quietly. She was met with silence from her two friends.

"I think I'll head down to the Kitchens. You two want anything?" Colin asked with forced cheerfulness in a desperate attempt to change the subject. Standing up and stretching his arms above his head, he looked down expectantly at his best friends.

"Two hot chocolates," Kendra and Ginny said simultaneously, and then looked at each other and grinned.

Colin laughed. "You two are easy,"

"Spread that around, will you?" Ginny muttered sarcastically with an amused roll of her eyes.

"Will do," Colin said with a wink.

xXxXx

A/N: I got this up as quick as I could. I was happy to see I got more reviews for the last chapter, mostly readers commenting on Snape's behavior. I warned you I was in a sarcastic mood…

TropicalTreat101: Yes, Snape was a bit…rude towards the Gryffindors in particular, but then again, that's completely expected.

Padfootedmoony: Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this one as well.

.spitxfire.: Yeah, I really used the last chapter just to move things along quicker. Let's hope it's the last.

Jade Summers: I can definitely relate to the feeble life you mentioned, especially when I'm updating. I zone out completely and ignore anyone who tries to talk to me, then when I take a break from writing, they don't want to talk to me anyway. Ah, oh well I guess haha. I LOVED Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, wonderfully done if you ask me.

Invisibleink: Love the name, thanks for the review!

**By the way, if any of you would like to see a picture of the snowflake Draco gave Ginny, tell me so in a review and I'll gladly email it to you.**

Otherwise, just leave one telling me what you thought, thanks!


	12. Chapter Eleven

A/N: I was really excited about this chapter as it's been in the back of my mind for months. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! Happy holidays!

Also, I borrowed a couple of ideas of "Grey's Anatomy", which is a lovely show so if you haven't seen it just yet, I suggest you look for it. Also I think there's one quote in there by Quentin Crisp. I apologize for any spelling errors; I finished this in a mad dash!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Eleven**:

_She was running, running as fast as her weakened legs would carry her tired body. Flashes of lights of all colors were speeding past her, just barely missing her. She gasped as a green beam skimmed the top of her head, singing some of her red locks. _

'_Wait a minute,' she thought to herself, still running. 'When did I dye my hair red?' Shaking those thoughts from her head as a person that had been running next to her was hit with a spell, she continued running forward to what looked like the Forbidden Forest. Not knowing why this seemed so safe at the time, she ignored all her mind's protests and followed her instincts. She was almost there…just a few more steps and she would make it. Running past a fallen man, she saw his hand shoot out a second too late and cried out in distress as she came crashing to the ground._

"Kendra!" Ginny shouted into her best friend's ear, waking the blonde from her slumber. Kendra moaned in response, and pulled wearily her pillow, trying to drown out Ginny's shouts to wake up. Ginny responded with a laugh and effortlessly flicked her wand, sending the pillow flying into her own arms.

"No. Must have more sleep. Don't want to be awake." Kendra murmured, the last remnants of her dream slipping away. Slowly she opened her ocean blue eyes with defeat.

"Nonsense," Ginny said with a shake of her head and walked over to the windows, giving the curtains covering them a hard yank. "The sun is out!" Kendra winced in pain, her hand hastily covering her eyes in an attempt to shield the beaming sunlight from shining on her.

"Oi, remember when I had corneas?" She groaned to Ginny. "And since when did you resort to torturing your roommates to wake them up? I thought you just followed the strict routine of slamming doors, starting pillow fights, or drenching us in water when it came to waking us up." Ginny rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom, beginning to brush her ever growing locks.

"That last one only happened _once_, and anyway, I needed to spice things up a bit." Looking around, Kendra noticed that her other roommates had recently left, as their beds were not yet made and the sheets were wrinkled. "Everyone else woke up before I did this morning, though, so you were the first to experience your new alarm system." Ginny added, walking back into the room and starting to plait her hair.

"Figures," Kendra muttered under her breath. "Oh Merlin, how could I have been so daft? Today's a Hogsmeade trip isn't it?" Ginny nodded in response with a small smile and then proceeded to look through both her own and Kendra's trunk for something to wear. Kendra gave one last groan before standing up and walking to the showers.

"Ken," Ginny called as the sound of waters rushing into the drain filled the room. "Since you're blind and all, s'alright if I borrow a couple of things?"

Kendra's answer came quickly, as Ginny ducked the flying bar of soap that her friend had thrown.

"Guess that's a no, then," Ginny muttered dryly.

xXxXx

Walking down the staircase that would lead the two girls to the Common Room, Ginny immediately searched for a tall blonde. Stepping onto the plush, red carpets, she spotted Colin sitting on the chair by the fire, surrounded by giggling fourth and fifth years. Sighing she gave Kendra a nudge. Her friend looked over to where Ginny gestured and narrowed her eyes. Setting her shoulders, she latched onto my arm and pulled me forward over to the fireplace.

"Morning, love," Colin greeted upon seeing Kendra, and I struggled to keep from rolling my eyes as he didn't even look in my direction, but instead took Kendra's arms and pulled her forward so that she was sitting on his lap and I was left standing stupidly in front of the couple. Giving the smaller girls a glare, they ran off, though with a few choice words, and I was free to choose any seat I so wanted.

"I see you're in a good mood today, Gin." Colin said with a smirk.

"I was…before you came along." She griped. Kendra laughed and stood up, pulling Colin along with her. Colin then moved over to Ginny and helped her stand, and Ginny offered a small thank you, though she was scowling the whole time.

"Right then, let's head down to the carriages, wouldn't want to miss them." Colin stated cheerfully, linking arms with his two best friends. The three slipped past the fourth and fifth year girls, who were momentarily distracted as Dean Thomas came down the steps from his dormitory, and quickly exited the Common Room. Laughing at what they knew would be a much more difficult escape for Dean, they carried on through the hallways, their arms still linked, only stopping briefly to show the glowering caretaker their permission slips.

"Why is there a Hogsmeade weekend now of all times?" Kendra asked to no one in particular, studying the scenery out the window of the carriage, even though she'd seen everything there was to see numerous times before. "Doesn't everybody leave soon, three days from now or something?" She continued, now turning to look at both Ginny and Colin.

Colin looked thoughtful for a moment before replying. "Yes, students are set to leave on Tuesday, that would be three days from now, but I think Professor Dumbledore thought we could use the last minute shopping," He said with a humorous twinkle in his eye.

"That reminds me, Fred and George owled Ron the other night and told him to tell me to tell you, Colin, that your order of Ever Bashing Boomerangs is in," Ginny said, albeit with a suspicious look, though Colin covered easily, nodding his head.

"I was wondering when those would finally arrive." He stated casually and waited until Ginny wasn't looking to throw Kendra a wink.

"That'll be our first stop, then." Ginny added hurriedly. Kendra shrugged nonchalantly while Colin simply smiled. The carriage lurched to a stop just then and all Ginny's thoughts of figuring out what was really going on were pushed to the back of her mind as she opened the door and nearly ran into Draco, who had been walking by the door on his way into Hogsmeade with Blaise and Tanith.

Though his face was at first blank, a look of disgust quickly came upon it as he shoved Ginny backwards so that she fell on Colin as he was climbing out. The two landed awkwardly on the ground and Kendra, who hadn't realized what was happing in time, quickly fell and landed on top of them. The Slytherins snickered as the three Gryffindors tried to untangle themselves while Kendra hastily whipped out her wand and pointed it directly on Draco's temple. He merely smirked as Blaise and Tanith just as hurriedly pulled out their own wands out and aimed at Kendra.

"Watch yourself, Bentley." Tanith cautioned in a low voice, fingering her raven colored hair as she sent Ginny a cold look. Upon seeing that Kendra had two wands on her, Colin quickly jumped up and pulled Kendra so that she stood slightly behind him, and though he didn't bring his own wand out, his hand could be seen clenched tightly around it in his pocket.

"Hex me Zambini, you know you want to. Give me your best spell, though I doubt it'll be anything spectacular." Colin taunted boldly.

"Mudblood, not worth it," Draco said with a roll of his eyes before Blaise could hex Colin. "Let's go," He continued and at Tanith's confused glance, Draco's eyes focused on something behind her. Turning around, she saw Professor McGonagall walking determinedly towards the six teens.

"We'll just have to deal with you three later." Blaise threatened with a sneer before walking along down the path that led into the small town, Tanith and Draco not far behind him. Seeing that the fighting had ceased, Professor McGonagall continued walking past Ginny, Kendra and Colin, pretending she hadn't noticed a thing. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ginny leaned against the carriage but quickly jumped forward as it began moving again, going back towards the castle to pick up other students. She couldn't help but think that it'd almost seemed like Draco had intervened for Colin, but that wouldn't make sense.

The three walked in silence; Ginny because she was pondering and Colin and Kendra because they were whispering into each others ears and holding hands. Apparently, Kendra thought Colin had been 'terribly romantic' when he stepped in front of her and insulted the Slytherins though they both knew Blaise could be extremely dangerous. Separating long enough to tell Ginny they'd meet her at the twin's in a few minutes, they quickly walked off to Madame Puddifoot's. Ginny ignored her two friends and continued on to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Gin-Gin," George called happily as she entered using an old (and hated) nickname. Ginny couldn't help the smile that edged onto her face. The twins always had a knack for cheering her up whether they meant to or not. Hastily, she moved from beneath the door just as a bucket of Portable Swamp that had suddenly appeared above her poured onto the floor before disappearing seconds later. George looked slightly disappointed that she had seen it in time.

"It's been going slow all morning," he said miserably, looking up at where the bucket supposedly was. "Oh well, its not the bucket I should be complaining about now, is it?" He continued, steering Ginny towards the cash register and moving her past the long line of students so that Fred could see her as well.

"What are you getting at?" Ginny asked him distractedly as she stepped over a puddle of melted Fever Fudge that had spilled.

"Don't think we haven't noticed. You haven't visited us at all since before school started up again, my dear sister." Fred proclaimed, shaking his finger in her face. Ginny laughed and kissed him on the cheek, giving Lee Jordan, who had taken over the cash register, a small wave. Walking into the back room with the twins and picking up some of their latest inventions to look at while they talked, Ginny took a seat in one of the cream-colored cushioned chairs.

"Where are Colin and Kendra?" George asked politely, though it seemed he was hardly interested as he kept looking anxiously at the door.

"Yes, shouldn't they be trailing your every step…or ignoring you while they snog." Fred continued for George, though he too was looking at the door with the same expression.

"What is going on?" Ginny asked in a bewildered tone.

"SHH!" The twins hushed, waving their hands to indicate, as if she hadn't heard. Just then, the bell above the door jingled as a customer entered. Fred and George slid to the edge of their seats. Suddenly a sloshing sound was heard throughout the store as the twins leapt from their seats with wide grins and out to see the customer.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed. Ginny laughed but had to quickly stifle it as her mother came into the back room covered from head to toe in the Portable Swamp, Fred and George dragging behind her, though they looked quite happy that their prank had finally succeeded on a customer, even if it was their mother.

"Hello Ginny, dear," Molly greeted hastily before turning to her two sons, who were quick to put innocent expressions on their faces, an art they had mastered by the age of two. Molly's face softened somewhat, but her anger, however, did not decrease in the slightest. Ginny allowed herself to smile and relax as she prepared to hear a shouting match that she was, for once, not going to be involved in.

"This is the worst thing you could've done," Her mother began, beginning to mutter numerous Scouring Charms to rid her robes of the mess.

Fred sighed. "Honestly Mum, you say that so often-"

"-that it's lost its meaning." George finished, looking at Ginny and rolling his eyes when his mother wasn't looking. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped, and at her mother's heated glare, hurriedly covered it up with a sudden coughing fit.

"Don't think you're not in trouble either, Ginevra." Molly started, turning towards Ginny now as Fred and George crossed their arms and sent Ginny a smirk. "More detentions in the last month alone than Ron has had in three months. Dear me, you'd think you were an exact replica of the twins." Here the twins looked proud and gave Ginny an approving nod.

"That's because Ron never gets caught," Ginny defended, ignoring her older brothers continued gestures. Her mother scoffed.

"I do believe that, but Ginny, dear, he has other reasons for breaking the rules. While his are for things that don't and shouldn't concern him, yours are all for your own pleasure and might've been just as well…had they not been put through past your curfew. There's very logical justification as to why those curfews are there, and it would make me very happy if you just abided by them." She finished softly. Ginny fought the urge to roll her eyes and nodded at her mother, knowing the nod meant nothing.

"Right, well I only stopped by to see how business was going," Molly said cheerfully, looking at George and straightening the collar on his shirt and smoothing Fred's hair affectionately. Ginny now smirked at them as they stiffened at their mother's old habits from when they were still children…not that they ever really grew up.

There's an old proverb that says you can't choose your family. You take what the fates hand you and, like them or not, love them or not, _understand_ them or not, you cope.

xXxXx

"Colin, just tell me what's in the box," Ginny begged to her best friend, trying futilely to snatch it from his hands. He fended her off laughing.

"There's no use in it, Gin, I already tried. All he would tell me is that it's a Christmas gift for all of us." Kendra explained with mirth. Ginny sighed and sat back in her chair by the fireplace. Looking at the box contemplatively, she wondered at what was really inside of it.

"Nonsense, just let me hold it." Ginny ordered, holding out her hands. "I won't open it," she said in a knowing tone before Colin could say it. He continued sitting, not moving and seemingly waiting for something else to happen.

"Swear," Kendra whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"What?" Ginny asked loudly, and Kendra covered her face with her hands at Ginny's oblivious attitude.

"You have to swear you won't open it, trust me." She said, this time in a regular tone, as Colin chuckled but nonetheless looked at Ginny expectantly.

"Ugh, fine, I _swear_ I won't open it if you give it to me, but if you don't, I can't swear that I won't hex you." Ginny threatened, narrowing her eyes and once again holding her hands out. Colin nodded, satisfied, and promptly put the small box into Ginny's outstretched hands. Holding it with care, Ginny lifted it up tentatively to her eyes for a closer inspection. Colin looked relieved that she was being gentle and upon seeing this, Ginny shook the box with all her might.

"Gin," he barked and snatched the present back. "You'll break it."

"Since when do you buy fragile presents?" Ginny questioned suspiciously.

"Since today," Colin answered with a resigned voice as he transfigured the box so that it was small enough to fit into his pocket. "Please, Gin, just let it be. You'll find out soon enough." Ginny sat still, looking at him, anticipating him to continue and frowned at him when he did not.

Kendra rolled her eyes with a smirk. "Swear," she whispered again, this time to Colin. He caught on much quicker than Ginny had and hastily added onto his previous statement.

"I swear to God." He said solemnly.

"Are you atheist?" Ginny asked casually. Colin started.

"Athe-what?" Kendra laughed at Colin's confused expression but stopped abruptly at his glare.

"Well if you were an atheist, you couldn't really swear to God, now could you? It rather defeats the whole purpose of swearing if you don't even believe in what you're swearing to." Ginny would've continued had Colin not quickly intervened.

"No, Gin, I'm not an atheist. I believe in God, and I swear to God. Merlin, you're like a two year old sometimes, you know that?" He said, ruffling her hair affectionately as he stood and walked to the boys' dormitory.

xXxXx

Three days later found the three Gryffindors in a half sad, half excited mood. They were each going home to spend the holiday break with their families and wouldn't see each other until Christmas day, on which they had promised they would all meet at the Burrow to exchange gifts. They'd all agreed that though they could've just owled the presents, it would be much more fun if they did it in person. Molly had agreed and had already begun making arrangements for the two extra people that would be staying at the house.

"Promise you'll owl me if anything happens?" Kendra asked Ginny carefully as she carried her trunk off of the train and began walking towards her parents, Colin walking along with them and watching the conversation with interest.

"Define anything," Ginny said mischievously, knowing that she was annoying Kendra.

"Anything as in Bill suddenly deciding that he's not madly in love with Fleur anymore and wants to marry me instead (I'm kidding, Colin), as in Percy somehow tripping down the stairs from the top floor to the bottom, as in Fred and George declaring that pranking is simply not for them anymore, as in Ron and Hermione _finally_ snogging…do I _really_ need to continue?" She asked, now out of breath. Ginny laughed and threw her arms around her best friend, hugging her tightly.

Colin smirked as Ginny turned to hug him. "The same goes for me, though I honestly could care less whether Ron and Hermione _finally_ snog, and I don't particularly care for Bill," he said chuckling. Taking Ginny firmly into his arms, he sighed. "Do be safe, Gin." He said softly and Ginny smiled before giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry so, Col. Nothing's going to happen in five days time that's going to make you and Kendra become offended that I didn't immediately owl you, let alone anything Daily Prophet headline worthy." Ginny soothed, stepping back and giving her friends one last wave as she spotted her father standing a little off to the side talking to Ron and Harry with a concerned expression. He swiftly stopped as Ginny walked up to him with a smile.

"How are you, love?" He greeted, giving her a small hug.

"Lovely and you?" Ginny asked with a wide grin as Ron rolled his eyes and nudged Harry.

"Just when I think I can get some bloody attention from my dad, and then Gin comes up and bam," He muttered to his best friend, clapping his hands loudly together. "She steals the spotlight that fast." Harry laughed and looked at Ginny rolling his eyes.

"Right, let's head back to the Burrow, shall we?" Arthur said cheerfully, picking up Ginny's bags and handing them to Ron, who took them, but not before glowering at a cheeky Ginny. Harry slung his arm across her shoulders, lugging his trunk behind him as they walked to the car Arthur had received from the Ministry for transportation.

"You suppose we'll ever have a Christmas that's _not _hectic?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Ginny smiled. "Never."

xXxXx

"Mister Malfoy, your father is waiting for you in the Study." The House Elf greeted Draco, taking the coat that the Slytherin threw at him with a small squeak.

Walking over the secret compartment where his father had previously hidden banned Dark Art items, until the Ministry had confiscated them, he wondered how his father had escaped from Azkaban and why he hadn't read about it in the Prophet. He swept past the long marbled hallways without a second thought to the wealthy portraits and statues that eyed him with judgmental eyes. His shiny black shoes clicked softly against the white marbled floors as he arrived at the door to the Study.

The Study had always been one of the most private rooms of the Manor, and there had been a time when Draco had felt proud that _he_, and not his mother, had been allowed to enter it. Now, however, he could only look at the expensive Dark Arts with distaste at their familiarity. Since the Manor would be the last place the Ministry would look, as it was much too obvious in their search for Lucius Malfoy, Draco concluded this as the reason all the Dark Arts they ever owned were now in the black wooden floors. Stepping onto a white rug, he walked into the room but remained near to the door for an easy escape. Meetings with his father had never gone too well.

"Pleased to see me?" Lucius asked with a smirk. Before Draco could answer, there was a sudden rushing sound as someone arrived through the floo. Lucius sighed tiredly as he stood and Draco took the opportunity to thoroughly look him over.

His father's once shiny and cleanly cut hair was now quite matted and reached pass his mid back. Draco had to fight to keep a look of disgust from rising on his face as he continued. The clothes his father was wearing were nothing like that which Draco had been used to seeing him in. Instead of the rich, luxurious fabrics Draco himself wore daily, his father was currently sporting a cloak with holes in it. It was worse than what the Weasley's wore! His thoughts were interrupted as his father finished his conversation with the man Draco did not recognize from the floo.

"Do I need to roll out a welcome mat, or can you at least find your own chair?" Lucius asked raising his eyebrows.

Draco bit the inside of his cheek to keep from scowling and walked calmly to the wooden chair placed in front of his desk. Looking around, he could see that the chair matched the surroundings, as all other furniture was also finely crafted wood, meant only for looks and not to be comfortable, though this was probably done on purpose by his father. There was a moment of awkward silence as Draco stiffened, knowing his father was calculating his every move, his every weakness, and if he continued any longer, his every thought. The teen boy struggled to keep the barriers in his mind up while still looking collected on the outside. Finally, he felt a release as his father let go and he sat back.

"Stop fidgeting." Lucius snapped, irked that he hadn't been able to read what his son was thinking. Draco stopped but tightened his hands around the armrests.

"Is there a reason you've called me into the Study or did you just want to 'catch up' before they toss you back in that blasted cell?" Draco asked boldly, looking his father straight in the eye.

Lucius shook his head lightly before quoting, "It is quite alright to be silent and _thought_ of as a fool, for if you open your mouth, you shall only prove it." Draco remembered something his Potions teacher had taught him less than a fortnight ago.

"_Don't forget to always look him in the eye and keep calm. Anger is a sign to him that what he is doing is working," Snape advised._

A lot of good that bit of advice would do now.

"Did they always teach poetry in Azkaban, or were you their _special friend_?" Draco scoffed and immediately regretted it as his father's silver-tipped cane, which Draco had missed observing before, came crashing down onto his head.

"You will not speak to me in such a manner, understand?" Lucius asked carefully as Draco nodded, remembering not to rub his head in his father's view as it was a sign of weakness. "The trouble with children is that they are not returnable," his father muttered more to himself than to Draco. Ignoring the blood beginning to trickle slowly down the side of his face, he waited for Lucius to continue.

"The Dark Lord has requested your presence in a meeting which we will go to…" He paused as he looked at a grandfather clock beside the door. "Now." Draco started and Lucius scowled distastefully. "Keep your cool, boy." He said firmly. "Tonight shall be a test of your loyalties. Do you really wish to become a Death Eater and have the honor of serving the ever powerful Dark Lord?"

Draco had to once again quickly put up the barrier in his mind, and was glad he had asked Snape to help him with this. Honestly, he didn't see the honor in serving a reincarnated snake that never did any of his own dirty work. As a boy, he had been shocked that his father would sink as low as worshiping a mere man when he had always claimed to be so superior to every other witch or wizard. Standing as his father stood, Draco stiffened as Lucius smirked and grabbed a hold of his sleeve, placing a finger on the Dark Mark etched into his own arm.

"You shall have one of these soon," Lucius commented lightly before Draco felt himself spinning faster than he thought necessary.

A moment later, the two Malfoys arrived at a graveyard and as Draco looked around, he noticed that he along with his father had ended up in a semi circle. Looking towards the center where he expected to see Lord Voldemort, he was instead surprised to see a line of muggle children crying and tied together by their wrists and feet. They squirmed on the ground as more people arrived.

"Draco, go over there with the others that are to be initiated." His father ordered and Draco abided, spotting Blaise and Tanith immediately.

"Hey mate," Blaise greeted and Draco returned the favor, also turning to say hello to Tanith. The three teens watched silently as Lord Voldemort suddenly appeared sitting on his throne in the center of the circle. Tanith stepped back so that she was in line with the others, squeezing Draco's hand nervously.

"I ssee you all made it on time. Very good," commented Voldemort. "Thiss processs of initiation will be rather longer than the previouss oness, and will in fact take two dayss to complete. Tonight, all you who sshall be entered into thiss fine group of men and women," here there was a chuckle that went around the semi-circle, though Draco noticed none of the teens seemed to have found anything remotely funny. "Here iss how thingss will go," He continued.

Abruptly, the whole group of teens stiffened simultaneously as the snake swept his eyes over the crowd, excluding Tanith, Blaise and Draco who stood boldly still in the center of it. Voldemort nodded, openly pleased with this.

"You three, sstep forward." He commanded and the Slytherins hurriedly obeyed. "Hmm, let'ss ssee, who would like to go firsst?" He asked, trying to scope each of our minds. Draco concluded that only he and Blaise had been able to properly close the barrier as Voldemort had scanned them as he called Tanith to come closer to him and stand off to the side. Despite the fact that Draco had never made friends within his house, he couldn't help but feel a little worried for Tanith.

"Pick one of thosse Muggless," he said the word as if it pained him to do so, and Draco found this ironic as Snape had once told him that Voldemort himself was a Mudblood. Tanith followed the Dark Lord's request and hesitantly picked a small blonde girl whose face was dirty with tears. Draco both felt and saw the pity in Tanith's eyes as she realized what she had to do and worried that she was being far too open with her feelings.

"Go ahead," Voldemort urged in excited expectation. Tanith took a step forward, setting her shoulders back and looking down upon the girl with a forced cruel expression. Taking out her wand, she pointed it firmly at the small child, her hand shaking. After a moment she raised her arm, preparing to strike.

"_Crucio_," she shouted with all the hate she could muster. Draco cringed as a pathetic spark flew from the wand as Tanith looked embarrassed but nonetheless prepared to try again.

"Black, sstep forward." Voldemort ordered and nodded as Tanith's father, William Black, walked a few paces to the front. "Sshow your daughter how it'ss properly done." Tanith's father nodded and quickly retracted his wand. He began torturing the small girl, ignoring the other children's pleas and desperate shouts to stop, unaffected by the small girl's cries of anguish. Draco felt anger pit in his heart. There was no reason for this, the child was innocent! She had done nothing but fall asleep that night only to wake up in a graveyard and be tortured by a crazy father.

This horrifying scene continued as Voldemort called each child and their parent forward, forming a routine. Blaise had been the only boy who had come close to actually making his spell work, but Draco wasn't surprised. His own hadn't even caused a spark, as he had felt no anger or malice towards the innocent boy he had chosen. He instead had tried to hastily think of ways to free the child before his own father could get a hold of him, but hadn't succeeded and cringed the whole time Lucius tortured the boy.

Draco knew from personal experience how much his father's spells could hurt.

The night had ended after all teens and their Death Eater parents had tortured one child, and were all ordered to come back the following night to complete their initiation where they would actually have to kill the child they had previously picked out. Draco lingered beside Tanith who hadn't spoken a word since she'd been called forward and looked eerily pale. He was pulled roughly aside as Lucius once again grabbed his cloak and transported the both of them back to Malfoy Manor.

"Not even a spark, Draco?" His father roared the instant they landed on the study floor. "You were outdone by a _girl_, dear boy, do you realize that? Get over here," He snapped and Draco moved forward with a scowl on his face, not caring anymore whether his father thought this was a weakness or whether he did not approve.

"_Crucio_," his father snapped coldly and Draco stumbled to the ground as his body was filled with never ending pain. Every vain in his body felt as if it would burst any second for they were all on fire. The pain scorched his blood, seared through to his muscles, and opened every ancient scar. Draco bit his lip to keep from crying out as blood began dripping from his nose. It landed on the carpet, contrasting greatly to the pristine white of the rug and it's old scarlet red.

"_That_ is how you torture somebody." Lucius said with a satisfied smirk as he pocketed his wand, releasing the spell. He stepped forward and kicked his son harshly in the stomach. Then he kneeled down, taking Draco's chin firmly in his hand and looked at his son with pure contempt in his crazed eyes.

"Bet you wish you had really wanted to torture that girl now," He laughed cruelly before using his knee to hit Draco in the face, breaking his nose upon contact. This time Draco couldn't help the cry that escaped his mouth and regretted it instantly. Next, his father muttered a spell that caused Draco to get thrown against one of the wooden chairs, and he trembled in pain as it splintered into his body.

"Stay here, I'll be back." His father threatened. As soon as Lucius left the room, Draco scrambled shakily to his bag, reaching for the presents Dumbledore had given him. He'd known the moment he'd gotten home what the old man had given him and was genuinely grateful that he had. Pulling from the depths of the bag the two wrapped presents, he tore the wrapping off the smallest one and quickly observed it. It was a rock with engraving written in French on the side, and reading it aloud carefully.

"_Libérez-moi du mal_," Draco said, hurriedly activating the Port Key just as his father returned into the study.

His last thought as he felt the familiar tugging was that he hoped to end up somewhere both safe and warm, wherever that might be.

xXxXx

A/N: I'm extremely late and I unfortunately don't have time to thank each reviewer individually, I should be catching my flight right now! Thanks so much for taking the time to read, and I'm sorry it was a week late. I made it extra long because of that, and I guess you could also take it as an early Christmas gift. Merry Christmas!

Oh and really quick, '_Libérez-moi du mal_' is French for, "_Liberate me of the evil_."

Sunflour


	13. Chapter Twelve

A/N: After reading over the last chapter, I saw how many misspellings and other grammatical errors I had and freaked. So, all mistakes have (hopefully) been edited. I hate that I left you all in suspense for so long, but the time I spent writing this was my only free time available…

In case you don't go back reread the last chapter (which there really is no reason to since nothing has really changed, unless you'd like to, that's fine too) the inscription on the rock that Draco read out loud was '_Libérez-moi du mal_' which is French for, "_Liberate me of the evil_."

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters, just the plot! I think there are one or two lines in there from Great Expectations though.

_Humans are the only species capable of endless evil and cruelty, but also, endless compassion and endless hope – Author Unknown _

Forgotten

**Chapter Twelve:**

"Gin-Gin," George called gleefully with a wink at Fred, throwing a fat, shrieking gnome at Ginny's turned back. Before she could tell him off for addressing her with the hated nickname, she turned just in time for the gnome to hit her square in the face.

Upon arriving back at the Burrow, Molly had sent Ron, Ginny and Harry out to the garden to join the twins in de-gnoming the garden, while Hermione opted to stay inside and help with the cooking for that night's meal. Fred and George had decided to take the day off to make it home in time pull a few pranks on their younger siblings, Harry and Hermione included. Instead, they'd been forced to do some household chores, and ever since the others arrived, they'd been planning on how to execute a masterful escape. Ginny created the perfect target as she appeared to be quite distracted at the moment. Ron and Harry had seen this and carefully worked further and further away from her to avoid what they both knew would be coming; a gnome.

"Umph!" Ginny shouted in a muffled voice. The gnome was so terrified of getting thrown again that it clung tightly to her hair on either side of her head, refusing to budge as it dug its small (but sharp) claws into her scalp. Fred gave George a high five and the two strolled casually back into the Burrow and after sneaking passed Molly and Hermione, raced up the stairs to their room and slammed the door closed with a loud bang.

Ginny, unable to see, began walking blindly with her arms outstretched, trying to find her bearings, all the while shouting muffled curses at who she thought were Fred and George. She promptly stopped this however as soon as she walked into a bush and flipped over it, landing on the other side of it with a thump. Ron smirked and leaned against one of the gnarled trees crossing his arms, reveling in the small break of de-gnoming the garden, while his best friend, Harry, laughed but quickly came to Ginny's rescue, peeling the potato-like gnome off the girl's angrily flushed face.

"Thank you, _Harry_," Ginny shouted, throwing a look at Ron, who threw his hands up in fleeting surrender. She then turned to look up at the house towards the second floor where the twins' room was located and, seeing the two redheads hastily closing the curtain after she'd spotted them, picked herself up with Harry's offered help and began storming into the house only to be forced to a halt by Ron and Harry who'd come rushing after her.

"Let me go," Ginny said gritting her teeth in an effort to free herself from their tight grasp. Luckily for the twins, Harry and Ron were quite strong, and she soon gave up.

"Please Gin, Mum will blow a fuse if she catches us fighting instead of…de-gnoming." Ron said, lacing his last word with pure disgust.

"Can you two at least help me get them back?" She asked exasperated. The boys looked calculatingly at Ginny, then at each other, before nodding with identical grins.

"Right so I'm thinking we could-" Ginny started in an excited rush before she was interrupted.

"Ginny, would you be a dear and help Hermione in the kitchen? I just have to step out and stop by the market. Seems I miscounted how many servings of food would be needed." Molly asked in a loud voice from inside. Ginny glared as Ron sent her a smirk but went inside anyway knowing her mother wouldn't hesitate to yell at her in front of Harry and Hermione.

"And Ron, stop lounging about. I expect all those gnomes to be out of my garden by the time I get back." Molly ordered, stepping out to emphasize her directions and giving a small smile as Harry hurriedly went back to work, while Ron dragged his feet before eventually kneeling down and joining Harry. "I'll be right back," she said cheerfully to Ginny and Hermione who were setting out the dishes in the kitchen.

As soon as Molly had Apparated from the Burrow, Hermione hurriedly left to lock the door, placing a silencing charm on it before she turned and came back to where Ginny sat on top of the counter. At Ginny's questioning glance as she began closing the windows above the sink and placing similar silencing charms on them, she quickly mouthed 'Christmas presents.' Smiling knowingly, Ginny helped her finish locking the small windows and went back to her seat on top of the counter where Hermione joined her.

"What did you get everybody?" Ginny asked, idly stirring the treacle pudding.

"Let's see," Hermione started. "I got a couple scarves charmed to stay warm for Harry so he can wear them during Quidditch matches, a photo album for your mum, a book for Ron, for your dad I got a muggle cloc-"

"Wait a minute, you got Ron a _book_?" Ginny asked, pausing in her stirring. Hermione looked confused but nodded.

"Yes, Metamorphosis, I think it was written by a muggle named Franz Kafka," she trailed off thoughtfully, unaware of Ginny's bewildered stare.

"Metamorphosis is…very romantic." Ginny said sarcastically, looking distastefully at the strange blancmange set aside for Fleur, who was coming with Bill that night for dinner.

"I think it is romantic," Hermione defended with a huff.

"I know _I've_ always dreamed that somebody would get me a very long, very confusing, Czechoslovakian novel." Ginny scoffed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I think he'll appreciate it." She said getting down from the counter so she could begin mixing in the vegetables for the soup. Ginny sighed but followed her example.

"A book sends the wrong message. You have to look at what a gift says to the other person, not to you. For example, last Christmas I got my mum some new perfume. My thought was, 'Hey mum, you work hard, you deserve something nice.' She thought it was shag juice used to lure men while Dad was away at the Ministry and sent me to my room with no dessert for the rest of the night."

"Yeah but-" Hermione started, trying to explain before Ginny stopped her with a hand.

"Just imagine that you gave Ron something really romantic and he gave you…a quaffle. Your hypothetical romantic present is saying that you really like him, and his present is saying, 'Hey mate, lets just be friends.'" Ginny said quickly before Hermione could interject.

Hermione furrowed her brow. "And you're saying that this book-"

"-is a Czechoslovakian quaffle, yes." Ginny finished for her as she began cutting some carrots with a swish of her wand. It was quiet in the kitchen for a moment as Hermione thought.

"Then what do I get him?" She asked tiredly, leaning against the kitchen counter and abandoning the unfinished soup.

"I can't answer that." Ginny said with an apologetic smile. "Gift giving is serious business." Their talking was interrupted as Ron began banging loudly on the door, shouting for them to let him and Harry inside. Hermione's eyes widened worriedly, and Ginny quickly motioned that her lips were sealed before hurriedly unlocking the door.

"It's lucky I didn't have my wand on me," Ron muttered, rolling his eyes and pushing past Ginny. "It's bloody cold out there, you know."

"All men are annoying," Ginny commented to Hermione while scowling at Ron behind his back.

She chuckled. "Not all men are annoying, some are dead."

xXxXx

The aroma of freshly baked bread filled the room as Ron, Harry and Ginny entered the kitchen. Following the smell, Ginny kept walking until she was in front of the bread and, quickly looking around, snitched a small piece for herself and two more for Ron and Harry before hurriedly making her way to the table where most were already seated, slipping the two boys their pieces under the table with a practiced casual manner.

Though the whole family wasn't present, it was still quite a large group. Bill and Fleur were seated at the far right end of the table, next to an empty seat that Arthur, who was at the head, had saved for Molly. Seated beside him, and across from Bill and Fleur, were Fred and George who had some how managed to make sure that Ginny's chair was as far as possible from their own. This was easily discovered as Ginny overheard Bill commenting, "You should be afraid of her, you do remember her Bat Boogey Hex, right?" while she was snitching more bread for herself, Ron, Harry and now Hermione.

Next to Fred and George sat a suspicious looking Harry who wasn't pleased about sitting next to the infamous twins and constantly eyed every piece of food in his vicinity with the utmost scrutiny. Hermione had stubbornly chosen to sit beside Fleur to keep Ron from lunging at the French girl who was part Veela, while Ron sat sullenly next to Harry. Ginny, much to her disappointment, was seated at the head of the table, opposite her father. It would be much harder to pull her prank on the twins if she sat in open view of the whole family where so much as a twitch could be seen.

"Everyone," Molly began after standing in front of her seat. "Though I know it's not Christmas yet, I want you all to try the foods I've prepared (with the help of Hermione and Ginny) and give me your honest opinions on them. There are some new dishes that you probably are not accustomed to, but I need to know how they taste so I can decide whether to include them in the Christmas dinner or not." The people in the room nodded enthusiastically, their stomachs grumbling in anticipation.

"Also, if you have a problem with your seating," she continued sharply looking directly at Ginny. "Please tell me so _after_ we finish eating. I allowed Fred and George to pick where everyone sat tonight and I personally think they've done a marvelous job."

"Figures," Ginny muttered with a quick glare at her identical smirking brothers. As soon as her mother's speech was finished, the food that had been placed so delicately and carefully on the table immediately began rotating in a counterclockwise direction, starting with Hermione and ending with Ginny. The food was extremely delicious, especially the bread, and the dessert looked equally mouth watering, but Ginny found herself unable to concentrate on this as she watched the twins from the corner of her eye. She leaned forward in excitement as George reached for a small bowl that had mysteriously been ignored by all the others.

Looking inside, he found a portion of creamy mashed potatoes with just enough for him and Fred. Nudging his brother, George quickly poured the potatoes onto both of their plates. When they were positive their youngest and only sister wasn't watching, they simultaneously muttered a spell and within the blink of an eye began eating the rest of their food, each wearing a similar triumphant smile. Though Ginny had missed the spell, she observed them as they ate their mashed potatoes with a high level of curiosity. Why wasn't anything happening?

Before she could ponder this thought more, there was a sudden halt of noise in the whole room as someone, a boy with pale, white blonde hair to be more specific, unexpectedly appeared floating in midair above the table. Seconds later, Draco Malfoy was unceremoniously dropped from whatever spell was holding him with a crash onto the unfinished food and fragile plates on top of the table. Arthur, Bill and Harry both pulled out their wands and stood in lightening speeds as Draco shuddered for a few moments before promptly passing out with a loud groan. The silence in the room was deafening to Ginny, and nothing could make it more awkward.

Wrong. She winced painfully as Ron and Hermione's plate of mashed potatoes swiftly exploded in their shocked faces. Dinners with the Weasleys were always eventful, but this was bordering on near insane.

xXxXx

"Shut it, Ron." Harry whispered furtively as he struggled to hear what was going on behind Percy's closed door. He, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were currently cramped together to hear Molly and Arthur argue about what to do with Draco, but were having trouble hearing as the MegaEavesdrop devices Fred and George had given them as early Christmas presents for this moment were only meant for one or two people at a time.

"I would 'shut it' if Hermione didn't insist on constantly stepping on my toe," Ron spat back glaring at Hermione who ignored him with an indignant toss of her head.

"SHH!" Ginny said as loud as she dared. "They're talking again," she informed an angry Ron who quickly stopped arguing and quieted to listen.

"…Molly, dear, Dumbledore informed me that this might be happening sometime over break, and I was going to tell you, I just hadn't thought it would happen so soon." Arthur was saying in a desperate attempt to calm his raging wife.

"So _you're_ responsible for bringing this boy into my home? He's not a stray puppy, Arthur." Molly declared angrily as she paced back and forth in front of Percy's bed where they had put Draco's unconscious body.

"Nor is he a criminal mastermind." Arthur said softly. "He's a boy with no other place to go that's safe. There's a horrifying reason why he had to Port-Key out of his own mansion after spending hardly a day there without knowing where he'd end up." Molly's face softened considerably and she looked at Draco with something similar to motherly concern as she finally noticed his bruised and bloodied appearance.

"The poor dear," She whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "How long will he be staying?"

"I'll get a hold of Albus and see if we can't have him moved to Hogwarts." Arthur said running a hand through his ever thinning hair. Molly looked shocked.

"Oh, I wasn't at all suggesting that he should have to leave the Burrow, Arthur! Can you imagine having to go through all of this just to be shuttled off to an empty castle so you could spend Christmas alone?" Molly fought to control her emotions as she finished this statement and Arthur quickly came to her aid, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. The door to the bedroom was suddenly thrown open angrily as Ron appeared standing in the doorway.

"You're going to let a _Malfoy_ stay _here_ for the holidays? There's no way I'll allow it-" Ron said heatedly, stepping further into the room as Harry followed guiltily behind him, though there was anger evident in his eyes as well. Hermione and Ginny stayed in the hallway but were seen through the door.

"Luckily, Ronald, you don't have the option of allowing it or not. Now I will not stand here and argue before this poor unconscious boy about where he is to stay during the break. There is nothing sadder in this world than to wake up on Christmas morning and no longer be a child, and as long as he is under _our_ roof, he will not be insulted or bullied or anything that could potentially take away his chance at a real holiday. Do you understand me boys?" Molly shouted shrilly as she dragged Ron and Harry out of the room, leaving Ginny, Hermione and Arthur standing quietly.

"Until your mother gets back, I need you two to care for the boy. It seems he has some cuts that need to be attended to." He ordered, though not nearly as loud as Molly would have. Hermione nodded before Ginny could protest. As Arthur left the room, closing the door behind him, Ginny threw a puzzled look.

Hermione sighed. "Enemy or not, Ginny, he is still human and he needs our help right now." Hearing it that way, Ginny couldn't help but agree and quickly conjured the needed materials; bandages, a bucket of water and two sponges. Hermione pulled up to chair and placed them on either side of Draco.

"I think he's got broken a rib." Hermione said with a gasp. "I'll wrap up the cuts on the front, hopefully there won't be as many on his back." Ginny nodded in reply and together they took off his black robes and struggled as they attempted to take off his shirt underneath.

"Piss it," Ginny said angrily and muttered a vanishing spell on the shirt and smiled as it disappeared right on cue.

Her smile quickly faded, however, as she fully took in all of Draco's scars, some of them fresh but most of them old, and though she couldn't see his chest, she had a feeling it was just as bad from the look on Hermione's face. Taking in a deep breath, she picked up one of the sponges and began gently rubbing over some dry blood, trying to clean it off. Hearing two pairs of feet climbing up the stairs, Ginny's head snapped up.

"Mione, do me a favor and close that door will you? I don't think it'd be fair to Dra-I mean Malfoy if Ron and Harry saw him at his worst, especially since he always tries so hard to seem tough around them." Ginny said quickly and Hermione quickly obeyed and shut the door just as a raven haired head and a redhead rounded the corner from the stairs.

"Oi, let us in there! Er…Mum said we should…check on him, yeah that's what she said." Ron said unconvincingly. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Ron, we'd have to be really thick to believe that. Go away, will you?" She said in a tired tone, and then to me in a whisper as she too picked up a sponge, "Sometimes I wonder why I love him so much."

A few minutes later, their work was once again interrupted as Ginny saw two Extendable Eyes (a new creation of the twins) roll in under the door from the corner of her eye. Hermione noticed it too, however, and stood up, angrily stomping on the cords and watched with a triumphant grin as they were hastily pulled back under the door.

"Gin, you think you can finish this up for me? I don't trust those two in the slightest. If they can't get in here, then Fred and George can, and I don't want to keep them out of my sight for this long without expecting retaliation from the twins." She said, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the closed wooden door. Ginny told her it was no problem and she hurriedly left, making sure to place a silencing charm on the door and locking it as she closed it.

Now that Ginny was able to look at Draco from both sides, she could see the full extent of his injuries. Hermione had been right in suggesting that he had a broken rib, but along with that he also had a broken nose, severely bruised stomach and cuts running all over the rest of his back and chest. The latter looked like some of the side effects of being put under the Cruciatus Curse for too long. She remembered reading something about this one day in Defense of the Dark Arts when Professor Snape had substituted, and though his teachings had long ago been forgotten, the reading he'd instructed the class to read had stuck in her mind.

After she'd finished scrubbing all the blood off his body, began wrapping the things that could be reached. For instance, the few cuts on his arm were quickly administered, while his stomach and back had to simply be covered with bandages, because Ginny didn't know if it would be safe to sit him up so she could wrap it.

It was when she was placing a rather small bandage on his right cheek bone when he suddenly opened his silver eyes. Startled to her wits, she let out a small shriek and jumped back. Not realizing where he was he grabbed her wrist harshly, and fleetingly looked around the room.

"Calm down now, Draco." Ginny said soothingly, though her wrist burned as he gripped tighter at her use of his first name. "You're safe now, there's no need to worry." His eyes finally focused on hers and his grip relaxed until he eventually let go and closed his eyes with a groan.

"Red?" He asked as Ginny nodded with a small smile. "Where the hell am I?" His voice was hoarse and shaky, but Ginny pretended not to notice.

"You're in Percy's bed," she answered. His eyes snapped open and he looked at her alarmed. "_Old_ bed, Percy's old bed is what I meant to say. He hasn't slept in this room for ages. It's more of a guest room now." Ginny hastily corrected much to Draco's relief.

"I should probably go get my mum," she whispered quietly. "I don't know if I'll be able to sit you up by myself, and your ribcage needs to be wrapped." Once again grabbing her arm before she could move, he put a hand up to stop her and let her arm go as he tried to push himself up.

"Little help here," he growled at her, shutting his eyes in the strain. Quickly moving forward to help him, she got a hold of his arm and placed a hand tenderly on his back, helping him straighten up and pulling his uninjured arm to get him to sit fully upright.

As she picked up the gauze and dressing, Draco obediently raised his left arm so she could wrap it around his body without much difficulty. He seemed pretty experienced at this and it worried Ginny. She was just going around from the middle of his back to the middle of his chest when her hand slipped and brushed lightly across his chest. Her fingers paused in their work as she felt him stiffen, but then continued wrapping around, only this time she allowed her fingers to drag gently across his skin. There was a strange fascination about it as she felt his smooth unmarred skin, though sometimes she came across a scar or bump.

"Enjoying yourself, eh Red?" He asked in a strained voice, though it seemed he still had the strength to smirk even if he couldn't keep his eyes open. Ginny's hands fumbled to quickly finish and she hurriedly applied the tape to hold the wrap tight.

"Right, er, the gauze and dressing should act as a temporary brace until my mum can bring the proper materials needed." The girl said with a stutter and a flushed face, ignoring his last statement. She stood up to leave, only to stop right as she put a hand on the doorknob.

"Will you just…sit with me for a bit?" He asked her in a pathetic small voice that she knew he was ashamed of. Feeling her compassionate side begin to come into play, she easily obliged and sat in the chair closest to the door so she could look at his face for any signs of pain. If for some reason she had done something wrong and he felt any discomfort, she would have to leave and fetch her mum.

Ginny sighed. "Why did you leave, Draco? You're in so much danger as it is, now you've probably got Voldemort's whole lot after you."

"Not his _whole_ lot, father doesn't care about me that much, but probably just a couple of his closest, murdering friends." He answered casually.

"Don't avoid the question." Ginny said frowning.

He gritted his teeth. "I do believe this is none of your business."

"Since when has that ever stopped me?" Ginny retorted with a small laugh and was pleased to see a small smile grace his face, a feature that, though she had never seen before, she found she preferred it over his usual smirk. It was a few moments before he spoke, and when he did, there was no longer a smile on his face.

"I'd been waiting my whole life for that moment, being initiated into Voldemort's clan, finally being accepted by my father, all of that. But when it finally happened, I had no idea what to do. I got…scared because I felt feelings like pity, fear, feelings I'd never felt before when it came to this sort of business. I went to the meeting, planning on becoming initiated as a Death Eater so that when I returned to school I could report back to Dumbledore on the events. He was counting on me completing at least this.

"When we got to the meeting place, though, and I found out that in order to become a Death Eater, I must kill an innocent muggle child, I…just couldn't do it. In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, just as I had been to cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong." He finished quietly, and Ginny found that she had no words.

It was because of this that she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, as it seemed the right thing to do, the only thing she could do to comfort him. He quickly kissed her back but she pulled away before the kiss could gain any passion, they weren't ready for that. Staring at his swollen pink lips and noticing the disappointed crease in his forehead, she couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated as well. His eyes fluttered open, revealing their silvery mist-like appearance.

"Bullocks," he muttered and grabbed a hold of her arms, pulling her down so he could kiss her. Ginny gave no resistance and quickly plunged into the kiss, allowing the before forbidden passion to creep slowly into it.

"Er, Ginny?" A voice coming from the door called timidly. Ginny and Draco quickly pulled apart and looking behind her, Ginny saw Hermione standing hesitantly at the door, a tray of soup in her left hand, her right hand still on the door handle. "What's going on?"

xXxXx

A/N: Wow, it's been a little over a month since my last update! As much as I wish I could apologize, life has been hectic and that is something I have no control over, no matter how hard I try. I hope you all understand, and I also hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I once again don't have time to thank each reviewer individually, but please know that your comments are much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Sunflour


	14. Chapter Thirteen

A/N: Finally a new chapter...I know some of you are mad at me, but **_PLEASE READ the A/N AT THE END OF THE STORY!_** For now though, I've got nothing to report, so enjoy chapter thirteen!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of these characters, just the plot! There's one quote in there by William Feather and another from A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry.

Forgotten

**Chapter Thirteen:**

"Did you want to join us, Granger?" Draco asked with a smirk, not faltering in the slightest as Hermione threw him a cold glare that sent chills down Ginny's spine. Stomping over towards the bed, Hermione roughly placed the bowl of soup in her hand on the bedside table beside Draco.

"I…er…I tripped, yes that's it, I tripped…and Draco-I mean Malfoy conveniently caught me. Remind me to tell mum about that lose floorboard." Ginny said, trying desperately to think of more excuses. Hermione didn't seem to hear Ginny's pitiful cover-ups, however, as she gripped Ginny's wrist with a tight hold, pulling her out of the room, but not before once again sending Draco a deadly glare. Luckily for Hermione, Ginny's room was just across the hall, so the distance she had to travel pulling a loudly protesting Weasley girl wasn't that far.

That, however, was unfortunate for Ginny because, not only could she not call for help, she could also not even begin to have a grain of hope that the four steps they'd taken from Percy's bedroom to her own had helped Hermione to calm down a bit. Hermione finally released Ginny's wrist from her grip and closed the door, offhandedly whispering a silencing charm. She continued facing the door, taking deep breaths and tried to process everything that had just happened. Ginny saw and took in all these steps with wary eyes, slowly walking backwards until she felt her bed touching her thighs. Still not taking her eyes off the still frame of Hermione, she dropped and sat on her plush, yellow comforter and thought carefully about what to do next.

If she'd analyzed the scene correctly, that meant that Hermione would've needed a further two minutes of complete and utter silence before Ginny could even consider trying to explain. Nonetheless, this thought was immediately pushed aside as soon as Hermione turned around and Ginny saw her annoyed expression. Patience was never one of Ginny's virtues.

"I'll join S.P.E.W., give you my bed so you don't have to sleep on the cot, stop making fun of you for falling in love with Ron. I'll trade in all my chocolate frog cards, use the sickles to buy some Shampoo, give that Shampoo to Snape and tell him, 'It's because you're worth it.' I'll march for Elf rights, free owls from the Owlery – I'll even read Hogwarts a History with you, _to_ you, _for_ you…anything. But you have to promise not to say _one word_ of what you saw to _anyone_." Ginny pleaded desperately in a rush, before finally inhaling, feeling confident that these offers would do the trick.

Hermione shook her head, her chestnut-brown eyes not focusing on Ginny but on the light green walls surrounding the two instead. Suddenly, she turned and rounded on Ginny.

"Why, why on _earth_ would you do something so _stupid_?" She asked her expression both slightly angry and slightly confused. The redheaded girl remained quiet, knowing that what Hermione needed to do most was vent until the thoughts started making sense and finally she would come to some sort of a conclusion.

"Honestly, Ginny, were you even thinking at all? He's the _enemy_." Hermione continued in a tone that suggested she wasn't even near finished, but Ginny couldn't help but interject.

"Remember when we all considered Victor Krum the 'enemy' as well, and look how that turned out!" Ginny defended and Hermione couldn't help but see her point. "Plus," Ginny continued, seeing that she was making an impact on Hermione. "Draco needed someone. You saw all those scars, Mione." The older girl's steely expression faltered a bit and there was a moment of thoughtful silence before she finally answered.

"Ginny, the way his father treats him has nothing to do with the situation I'm talking about, and you know it." She said quietly. "You can't get involved with a boy you don't even know. It's just too risky, both for your life and for your heart. Draco Malfoy is notorious for the throng of girls he's dated and most likely will continue to date…and I know that you don't kiss unless you really feel something for the bloke. You told me that yourself when you wouldn't let Harry kiss you last summer. All I'm saying is, before you even think about falling in love with the git, give us some time to figure him out a bit. Why he's here, of all places, and what'll happen to him next."

Ginny sighed. "I'm not planning on falling in love with him, Mione. It just felt so wonderful, and he's a brilliant kisser." Here Hermione cringed and pretended to gag as Ginny rolled her eyes and continued.

"There's so much passion when we kiss, in the moments before our lips meet, in the connection our eyes make. Every time our eyes meet, the feeling inside of me is almost more than I can take." She trailed off, blissfully remembering their kiss in the snow. Hermione looked carefully at Ginny and raised her eyebrows.

"You've kissed him before?" She asked, not in a demanding or angry tone, but with a tone that barely let off just how curious she really was. Ginny didn't meet her eyes, but nodded. A couple more minutes of silence filled the room, but it wasn't awkward, for both the girls had much on their minds.

"Right, well, we'd better find your mum. There are some injuries he's got that I'm not sure about, and she will probably know what to do because she has more experience." Hermione said casually, and suddenly, there was a silent agreement between the two girls, and both knew that all that had been said in Ginny's room would stay in Ginny's room. All would be kept quiet for now.

xXxXx

Early the next morning found Molly already in the kitchen, making a cup of tea for herself. She'd always been an early riser and with seven kids to raise, she'd found that the earlier she woke up, the better chances she had at not becoming overwhelmed with all there was to do during the day. Leaning her back against the counter, she sipped her tea quite contently, reveling in those few moments of lulled sound, recalling both joyful and melancholy memories as she looked around the old kitchen.

Molly was one of those women of a certain grace and beauty who wore it so unobtrusively, that it took a while to notice, and being a woman who had adjusted to many things in life and had overcome many more, her face was full of strength, even at this early hour. Her curly hair, though it was turning slightly gray just beside her ears, was still a light red color that turned darker, almost brown at the tips. She was still plump, though not nearly as much as she used to be. Recent months of war had caused her body to thin with worry and grief, though her hazel eyes still maintained their youthful sparkle.

Placing her cup of tea on the counter beside her, she began setting the table and filling it with the breakfast foods she'd already made; eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, pancakes, porridge, and kippers. If she moved slightly to the right, she could just barely make out the furniture's frame in the dark shadows of the common room. She knew, even without looking, every nook and cranny that resided in that single room.

Its furnishings were typical and undistinguished, and their primary feature was that they had clearly had to accommodate the living of too many people for too many years – and they were tired. Still, you could see that at sometime, a time probably no longer remembered by the family (except for perhaps Molly), the furnishings of that room had actually been selected with care, love, and even hope – and had been brought to the Burrow and arranged with consideration and pride.

Hearing a stir from upstairs coming from Ron's room, she hurriedly finished her cup of tea and began walking up the stairs. With so many people staying at the Burrow, she figured Hermione and Ginny would appreciate getting a bit of breakfast before the boys ate it all, so she walked quietly down the hall that led to Ginny's room.

Looking behind her, she saw that Malfoy's door was slightly ajar. Taking a quick look inside the room that had once been Percy's, she saw that the teenage boy was sleeping peacefully, affected not only by the Sleeping Draught Molly had given him the night before, but also by pure exhaustion. Molly sighed as she thought sadly to herself that the boy had grown up much too quickly for his age.

Returning to Ginny's room, she lightly shook the two girls awake and quietly and suggested they hurry up if they wanted to eat a fresh breakfast. Hermione woke up obediently and slowly dragged herself out of her bed, almost blindly reaching for her robe. After several more shakes, Ginny finally sat straight up at last in a stupor of sleepiness.

"Best hurry up, dear. The boys have already started their breakfast." Molly prodded standing and wiping her hands on her flowered apron. Ginny nodded, though she hadn't comprehended a word her mother said. "I'll try and keep a plate for you, but do rush down there." She said kindly before lightly closing the door behind her.

Ginny shook her head and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before standing. She swayed a little and almost lost her balance but finally made it to the door. Looking around in a daze, she saw that Percy's bedroom door was cracked open and remembered that Draco was sleeping in his room. Feeling an obligation to wake him up and lead him downstairs so he wouldn't get lost if he tried to do all that on his own, she quietly walked into the room and tip-toed her way over to the bed. Pulling out her wand, she smiled evilly and was just getting ready to mutter a spell to help him wake up when suddenly his eyes snapped open.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked her calmly, his voice showing no indication that he'd just been dead asleep.

"Er, well, I was just…erm…" Ginny stuttered.

"I see the term 'beauty sleep' doesn't apply to you this early in the morning." He replied with a yawn as Ginny gave him a sour look, but nonetheless ran her fingers through her sleep-disheveled hair in a vain effort to make it look more presentable.

"I just wanted to help you down the stairs so you can have some breakfast. The quicker you go, the better our chances will be that we'll actually get some food. Will you hurry it up?" She snapped as he took his time sitting up, wincing every now and then.

"I don't need your help." He answered in the same tone and swatted at her offered hand. He stood too quickly, however, and immediately felt the blood rush to his head. Quickly, he sat back down on the blue bedspread and cradled his pounding head in his hands.

"Are you alright? Listen, how many fingers am I holding up?" Ginny asked him, lightly grabbing his chin and turning his head so he had a clear view of her hand.

"Er, eleventy-seven?" He replied uncertainly.

"Close enough." Ginny said shrugging and folding the four fingers she'd held up into her palm. "Right then, allow me." With this, she placed her hands under his left arm and slung it over her shoulder, careful to avoid applying pressure on any of his bandages. He rolled his eyes and muttered again that he didn't need her help but leaned his weight against her anyway as they both simultaneously stood. Draco turned his head and looked at her threateningly as they began their slow trek down the three flights of steps.

"If I pass out-" he started in a warning tone.

"Then I'll yell, 'TIMBER!'" Ginny bit out as she struggled under his weight. He scowled but said nothing else. The smell of food began drifting into each of their noses and Ginny inhaled deeply and started hobbling quicker down the steps to the kitchen. As soon as the two came into view, all chatter in the room stopped.

"All the food's almost gone!" Ginny groaned, looking around the table in distress as she hurriedly helped Draco to a seat at the head table. The thought that maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to place him between Ron and Harry never even crossed her mind as she pulled up a chair next to a perky Fleur and tried to find a piece of toast that hadn't already been eaten or bitten.

"You should wake up earlier." Bill suggested kindly, idly taking a bite of his sausages.

"Really – would you suggest dawn?" She answered sharply, before placing her head in her hands, still fighting the urge to go back to bed, especially since now there was hardly any food left.

"How did _you_ get here, someone leave your cage open?" Ron asked Draco with a scowl as he piled more pancakes onto his plate. Ginny's head snapped up as she realized her mistake and upon looking at where she'd helped Draco sit down, she was met with his murderous glare.

"Early morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious." Draco replied, directing his comment towards Ron in particular and eyeing the eggs in front of him with disgust, though his façade was ruined when his stomach growled. Mrs. Weasley bustled into the kitchen just then, and seeing Draco sitting at the head of the table and between Ron and Harry, she smiled softly and came over to the table.

"You must be starving, you poor dear. Let me fix you something to eat, what would you like?" She asked in a friendly tone. Draco asked for pancakes and eggs, making sure to add a polite please and thank you, then, as soon as Mrs. Weasley had her back turned, sent Ron a triumphant smirk.

"Mum," Ron whined. "Why is he still here? I thought as soon as he woke up, we'd kick him out."

"Ronald Bilius (another smirk from Draco) Weasley, I will not allow you to speak like that in front of guests. We've already gone over why Draco is here, and also how you're to behave. Now I expect you to obey me, is that clear?" Mrs. Weasley demanded loudly, placing both her hands on her hips. Ginny snickered behind her hand, but wasn't quick enough to muffle it as Molly quickly came and smacked the back of her head.

"Oi, what did I do?" Ginny asked indignantly, rubbing her head.

"We're eating a lovely breakfast at the moment, and I won't stand here quietly and let you two run loose with your manners." Mrs. Weasley chastised, beginning to cook more quickly as was her custom whenever she became angry. Minutes later, she placed a plate of steaming hot rolls on the table in front of Ginny's longing eyes.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a floo to someone at the Ministry." Mrs. Weasley said curtly and walked at a fast pace out of the room. Meanwhile, Bill had walked over to Draco.

"May I introduce myself?" He asked, politely offering his hand.

"Certainly, try those people over there." Draco replied pointing to Hermione and Fleur down the table and observing Bill's unfaltering hand with distaste. The eldest Weasley only chuckled however and clapped an uncomfortable looking Draco on the back.

"Bill, Bill Weasley." He said with a friendly smile before going back to his seat and nudging Fleur.

"Parlez-vous le français?" _(Do you speak French?)_ Fleur asked him with earnest curiosity.

"Fluently," Draco quickly responded, immediately perking up as he finally noticed her.

"Comment vous sentez-vous?" _(How do you feel?) _Bill then asked with concern.

"I feel alright, just a bit sore. Sitting next to this one doesn't help much either." He said dryly, throwing his thumb over his shoulder indicating Ron, whose ears were becoming a light shade of red as he watched Draco and Fleur's conversation with envy. Fleur's laugh interrupted Ron's loathing thoughts of how to kill Draco Malfoy in the most painful way possible.

"Oui, il peut être un peu difficile quelquefois, et très fort." _(Yes, he can be a bit difficult sometimes, and very loud.)_ She commented. Bill and Draco and even Hermione joined in her laughter as Ron's mouth dropped open in shock.

"What did she say?" He shouted harshly as Draco, Fleur, Bill and Hermione all shared similar knowing glances before proceeding to break up into laughter again. Harry shared a warning glance with Ginny and both discreetly shifted their chairs away from the table, that way, should a fight break out, they would get caught in the middle of it.

"Sorry, we were talking _about_ you, not _to_ you." Draco said, giving Ron a disinterested glance. Bill laughed heartily and stood, pulling out Fleur's chair and helping her to stand also.

"It's been a lovely breakfast, but Fleur and I have got to go to the bank for the day. Nice meeting you Malfoy." Bill said, and as he walked by where Draco was sitting, he slipped something into the blonde's hand under the table, unnoticed by all. Draco stared at him in bewilderment as he saw what the eldest Weasley had given him.

"Bye Gin-Gin, keep the others in line, will you?" Bill teased affectionately, ruffling Ginny's hair as she grimaced in embarrassment. Immediately after Bill and Fleur exited the kitchen, going into the common room to say goodbye to Molly, Ron jumped out of his chair and looked directly at Hermione.

"Why did everybody laugh? My own brother, my own friend, my own…well whatever it is that Fleur is to me. I feel betrayed." He said with an over-exaggerated hurt expression.

"You don't even know what she said." Hermione said rolling her eyes in aggravation.

"Well, what did she say, then?" He demanded in a thundering tone, triggering another snicker from Draco and an attempted smother of laughter from Hermione.

"Right and since when could you speak French?" Harry added, looking with both awe and confusion at the now blushing Hermione. While this little confrontation was going on between the trio, Draco turned to Ginny.

"Gin-Gin?" He questioned with his ever-present smirk.

"Oh, shove off, Malfoy." Ginny muttered tiredly, knowing that this one would take a while to live down.

"I AM NOT DIFFICULT OR LOUD! WHERE DID SHE GET THAT IDEA?" Ron roared angrily.

xXxXx

An hour later found the four Gryffindors and single Slytherin in the garden. Mrs. Weasley was inside frantically cleaning up the house for the Headmaster's unexpected arrival, whereas the others had been ordered outside, so as not to make a mess. Ginny, Ron and Harry were playing a small gave of Quidditch, while Draco watched with a scowl, waiting impatiently for Dumbledore to come in through floo. Earlier, Hermione had taken it upon herself to give Draco the grand tour of the Burrow, but as they had been interrupted in the middle of it, all that she could now show him was a few things outside that were already in plain view. Nonetheless, she decided that now was as good of a time as ever for her to try and strengthen Harry's relationship with Draco.

"Harry, how about you show Malfoy around the backyard a bit?" She said as contingently as possible. Harry, still playing Quidditch using the few equipment pieces the Weasleys had, stopped mid-swing to give Hermione an incredulous look.

"Er…alright." Harry replied uncertainly, absently running a hand through his messy black hair. "Did you want to see the pond?" He asked, this time addressing Draco, who in reply, raised an eyebrow and looked about one and a half meters (five feet) behind the Gryffindor.

"Stuff it, Scarface." Malfoy answered dryly, leaning against one of the gnarled trees that lined the boundaries of the yard. Restraining the urge to wince outwardly, he bit the inside of his cheek as bits of bark pressed through his navy-blue jumper and pricked against the wounds on his back and mentally cursed himself for being so careless.

"I didn't _want_ to talk to you anyway, Mal-Ferret." Harry bit out shooting a furious glare at Hermione, who carefully avoided his gaze.

"It's my lucky day." Draco retorted with an impassive expression.

"Stop antagonizing him, Malfoy." Hermione snapped in annoyance as she began picking up the abandoned Quidditch equipment and sending Ron an irritated look as he continued to ignore what she was trying to do and kept passing a quaffle with Ginny.

"Excuse me, we were talking here." Draco replied in a haughty tone. Ron stopped short and turned to glare at the Slytherin who only eyed him coolly.

"And does insulting him really count as conversation?" Ron spat.

"If it doesn't, then we've never spoken." Harry muttered quietly with a smirk to Ginny as she came over to stand next to him. Ron and Draco stared at each other mutinously before Hermione, who had finish cleaning and organizing the Quidditch supplies, walked in between them.

"Honestly, can't you two tolerate each other for just _one_ minute?" She cried in exasperation, feeling frustrated at having to constantly keep the two apart.

"No!" Ginny answered for them, laughing disbelievingly.

"Was that supposed to be rhetorical?" Ron whispered to Harry, who only shrugged in response before promptly ducking as Hermione quickly walked over to slap Ron on the head. Draco rolled his eyes, becoming thoroughly fed up with the situation.

"Draco, dear, Professor Dumbledore is here now. Would you like to speak with him?" Molly called cheerfully out into the garden.

"I'll be doing a little more than speaking to him," Draco growled, placing a hand on his wand as he stormed inside while Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny all exchanged worried looks. Hurriedly, they followed him inside, intending on going with him in the common room before suddenly their path was blocked by Mrs. Weasley's body. Knowing her mum couldn't hold them all back, Ginny easily slipped past while her mum chastised Ron.

"…of all places, you thought the _Weasley's_ was where I would be safest? When I activated that port-key, I was expecting something absurd, but this idea is completely batty!" Ginny heard Draco shout heatedly while pacing as she quietly crept further into the room, hiding behind the couch so as not to be caught.

"Mister Malfoy, I think it would be wise to realize the genuine value of my placing you here. Can you honestly say that this is the first place your father and his…associates would look for you?" Professor Dumbledore asked calmly. Draco's pacing showed only the slightest signs of hesitation, but he quickly continued, remaining unfazed.

"Well no, but-"

"Could you also truthfully tell me that the Burrow has become a danger to your life, or that the family here has treated you with any amount of cruelty?" The Headmaster proceeded, ignoring Draco's complaints.

"No, but if you would just listen-"

"Then frankly, Draco, I don't see a problem with your staying here for the rest of the holidays." Dumbledore said easily with the ever-present twinkle residing in his blue eyes.

"The-the…the _rest of the holidays_? That means I'll be stuck here for almost a fortnight!" He shouted indignantly, quickly losing his calm façade. "You, sir, are an idiot." He finally ground out, facing Dumbledore with fury burning in his silver eyes.

"Yes, I do believe that's correct." The old man said with a small smile, ignoring Draco's last insult, before walking quietly towards the kitchen. Ginny hurriedly scrambled between the couch and the wall, but she had a feeling that her Headmaster had seen her anyway, as he seemingly accidentally dropped a lemon drop candy directly in front of her.

"You can come out now, Red." Draco called tiredly in her direction, startling her. Was she really that bad at eavesdropping? As she climbed out from behind the couch, she was expecting to find a frustrated and worn out Draco standing in front of her, but instead, she was met with his usual composed stance, with no indication of the earlier argument whatsoever.

"I should really learn how to be more discreet." Ginny said with a grim expression, shaking her head at her own stupidity before slipping the lemon drop into her mouth.

"You tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is never to try." Draco replied with a smirk before walking into the kitchen to join the others. Ginny paused a moment to send his back a rude gesture before following with a scowl.

xXxXx

Later that evening, after Dumbledore had left and they'd all had their fill of food, Draco had gone directly outside and had put Bill's present to good use. He'd been surprised when the eldest Weasley had handed him a box of cigarettes, mostly because he'd always assumed that every Weasley was a do-gooder half wit. And although Draco had never been a smoker previously, the logo, '_Got stress; then these are the smokes you should always possess_,' had intrigued him.

The sun was beginning to set however, and although the scene before him of vivid, light colors was slowly darkening into a serene view that calmed him more than the cigarettes did, he would have to go inside before it became completely dark, as he'd promised Mrs. Weasley he would. Hearing someone coming outside, he didn't even have to look over his shoulder to realize that it was Ginny. In seconds she was standing next to him looking across the landscape as he was.

"You know, second-hand smoke will kill _me_ just as quickly as those cancer sticks are going to kill you." She said lightly, turning to look at him.

"Well, in that case…"Draco returned and moved his head towards her just as he was exhaling, purposely blowing the smoke in her face. She closed her eyes as they began to water when the smoke made contact and coughed harshly, all the while slapping a laughing Slytherin anywhere she could reach.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny," Ginny grumbled, sticking her tongue out at Draco who merely smirked in response before turning his attention back to the landscape. "Mum sent me out here to tell you it's time to go inside." She said softly after a moment, still watching him. He nodded but said nothing, so Ginny took this as her cue to depart, and went inside, leaving him alone for a few minutes.

Inhaling deep one last time on the cigarette, he took his time exhaling, feeling the last bit of stress fade away. With a resigned sigh, he flicked the cigarette to the ground, watching it in short fascination as the red embers steadily burned out, before walking inside.

"You smell like smoke," was the first thing Harry said to him the minute he stepped in through the kitchen door, and suddenly, all the stress that had slowly drained away from him in the moments he was smoking abruptly filled his body again. Draco avoided eye contact with everyone in the room, not because he felt any guilt for smoking, but because he felt that if he stared at one of the four Gryffindors for too long, they would explode from the fire in his eyes.

"Right…let's go play a game of Wizard's Chess." Ginny suggested in a desperate attempt to ease the tension on the room. Ron's eyes immediately lit up as he hurried into the common room to set up the game, while Harry's remained carefully trained on Draco. Hermione walked over to him and grabbed his wrist, pulling him behind her into the common room and throwing Ginny a wink over her shoulder.

"Is this the Weasleys' idea of some pleasant, family fun?" The Slytherin asked, finally raising his silver eyes to meet Ginny's chocolate brown ones.

"I guess you could say that, but if anything, it'll keep Ron off your back. Harry though, I'm not so sure about him," Ginny trailed off, glancing into the common room briefly to see all three of them arguing over where to put the chairs.

"I'll just have to do my best to piss him off then, won't I?" Draco said with a smirk before walking into the common room and, once again, avoiding eye contact, though this time for a completely different reason.

Since there was an odd number of people and only one chess set, as Harry had left his at Hogwarts, two people played with the rule that whomever won would play the next game's winner and it would continue like that until the game was over. Ginny and Hermione both decided to eschew the game, but instead wanted to watch the boys try to not kill each other. Harry and Draco went first. This game moved a bit slower than a regular game, both being equal chess players, but Draco easily pulled out a victory, causing Harry to become more furious with the blonde than ever.

"Keep your knickers on, Potter. It's just a game," Draco called a few moments later with a smirk, though he kept his eyes on the chess pieces as Ron called out an order for his knight.

"I'm surprised the pieces even move for him," Harry whispered to Ginny and Hermione. "They have to trust their player, you know." Ron hurriedly hushed him into silence, getting into the atmosphere of the game and holding a concentrated expression on his face.

"Just give him a chance, Harry." Hermione whispered soothingly, watching the game with open curiosity.

"Do you not know what, 'SHH' means?" Ron snapped, hesitating in one of his moves, which allowed Draco to capture one of his guards.

"He wouldn't even look at me after he'd won the match, just kept staring at the chess board." Harry grumbled under his breath.

"You're not much to look at Potter." Draco replied without a sour expression on his face as Ron's Bishop lurked near his King. Ron snickered at the insult, not realizing that it was Malfoy who had said it.

"I also noticed you couldn't keep your eyes off of Ginny the whole dinner." Harry said, his voice gradually getting louder.

"Pardon?" Ron's head snapped up from the game and his eyes narrowed as he looked venomously between Malfoy and his sister.

"She's an eyeful, that one," Draco smirked. "And Granger's not all that bad either."

And suddenly, as if all lights had been turned out, Draco's vision went dark and his hearing became silent.

xXxXx

A/N: I realize that it's been two weeks since I promised I would have this out, but fortunately, I've got good news. I have a new beta! He's a friend from school and an excellent writer. He's also very serious about this 'job,' and has asked me to tell you that he promises to keep me on track with my writing. This way, the length between chapters will be much shorter, which is better for everyone, yes? He does, however, have some rules for me. One of them is that I'm not supposed to give anyone a guarantee of when my next chapter will be out because, as he says, you never know when life will suddenly become more complicated.

I think that this story will finally gain momentum, especially because these chapters coming up are crucial to the plot, so I hope this pleases everyone. 

Thanks to my faithful reviewers, who've stuck by me even when my updates were slow! I'll continue thanking you all individually on here, unless any of you prefer that I respond through mail instead. Let me know!

**Alexandria J. Malfoy**: Thanks for the good luck wish, I could definitely use it!

**Jade Summers**: THANK YOU so much for pointing out the first person error in the last chapter, I hadn't even realized! It's all fixed now (hopefully). By the way…how did you know the mailman was involved? You're too good.

**padfootedmoony**: For now, Hermione is going to keep it a secret…did you catch that slight foreshadow ;)

**moony's number 1**: I'm sooo sorry for the slow update, I feel horribly guilty, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as the last!

**.spitxfire.**: I can be more evil…and I think this chapter's cliff hanger proved it. I honestly thought about starting this chapter with another scene, but found that it just didn't fit with the way I wanted it all to go. I'm hoping you wanted to read the rest of the chapter anyway?

Until next time (which will be much sooner than this time, though I can't say exactly when),

Sunflour


	15. Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Things will pick up soon, don't worry.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

**Chapter Fourteen**:

He felt as is he was falling, not knowing when he would land or how hard he would hit the surface. The line separating being conscious from being unconscious was extremely blurry and hard to distinguish at that point for Draco. It seemed to be a problem that could easily be rid of. After all, he simply had to open his eyes and all would be well again…or, as well as things could be. That matter, however, seemed to fall in line with the clichéd term, 'easier said than done.' Draco's unconscious state of mind was a rather foggy one. He could not discern, for example, whether the thoughts running through his mind were caused from the rough punch Ron had thrown at him, or whether they had always been there, but had merely never surfaced.

Much like putting together a puzzle, Draco found himself slowly piecing together the bigger, more important events first.

Ron had punched him, that part he remembered quite vividly, but why? They'd been playing a rather insipid game of chess that only served to further increase Draco's need to win at any competition against a Gryffindor when Harry had suddenly begun muttering to the girls about something. Both Ron and Draco had told the Seeker as politely as they could to shut his attention-seeking-split-personality-mouth so they could each concentrate on winning…or at least, that's how Draco had seen it.

Next, after crafting together a border for the puzzle of reality, the smaller pieces suddenly appeared, and momentum was increased.

Harry had then brought up his new pet-peeves concerning Draco, one of them being the Slytherin's apparent interest in Ginny. This, of course, resulted in Ron quickly losing interest in the game being played and instantly switched his mood from, 'nothing-comes-between-me-and-winning-this-chess-game,' to 'I'm-going-to-act-like-an-over-protective-brother-now', unbeknownst to Draco.

Finally, the finishing piece to the puzzle was placed, and a sense of achievement was briefly felt as all parcels fit snuggly with one another, and the whole picture became vividly apparent to Draco.

His last line before the punch had been said with a purposeful tact. 'Get Ron distracted and you'll have the game in the bag,' had been his last thought. The 'bag', however, was never supposed to include an agonizing shot to the eye. Shortly after the situation was remembered and all made sense, reality came crashing unceremoniously into Draco's vision as he slowly opened the one eye that wasn't swollen shut.

"Honestly, Ronald, I had _just_ told Harry to give him a chance, and then you had to go and hit him for no apparent reason. Can you imagine if your mum had walked in on that scene?" Draco heard Hermione scold and saw her look up to the ceiling where Mrs. Weasley's bedroom was, as if the Gryffindor half-expected the woman to appear the moment her name was mentioned.

"If he wakes up breathing, congratulations, he's earned another chance." Ron retorted rolling his eyes and crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe that separated the kitchen from the Common Room. "Besides, I was defending you and Ginny. That's a good enough excuse, isn't it?"

"He lives," Harry greeted unenthusiastically from his position on the couch as he noticed that Draco had opened his eye, interrupting any reply Hermione could make.

"Damn," Ron muttered, before promptly getting slapped by Ginny on the side of his head. Draco groaned and reached for his bruised eye, suddenly wishing he was still unconscious.

"Don't touch it," Hermione said hurriedly, stopping him. "There's a small cut on the corner of your eyebrow. It's not deep, but I need to bandage it before you go sticking your dirty, germ-covered hands all over it." She stated coolly, firmly pushing his hand away. Draco scowled in response but nonetheless allowed the Head Girl to place a small, flexible strip of fabric to cover the even smaller gash on his face.

After she was finished, he looked around at his surroundings and, upon realizing that he was lying on the carpeted floor in the common room, promptly sat up, not wanting in the slightest to look weak any longer than he had while unconscious.

"Careful," Ron cautioned sarcastically. "We wouldn't want you to pass out again."

"Oh, go stuff it, Ron." Ginny snapped, as Hermione stood and pushed him and Harry into the kitchen to lecture them. She made sure to close the door on her way out, but this hardly shielded the volume of her shouts. Draco swatted at Ginny's offered hand and slowly helped himself to his feet.

"How long was I out?" He asked, sighing tiredly as he ran his fingers over his new bandage, adding it to his growing collection. 'Pretty soon, I'll be a literal mummy,' he thought to himself.

"Around ten minutes, I think." Ginny answered, sitting on the chair next to the unfinished chess game and fiddling with a few of the marble pieces.

"Figures," Draco scoffed.

Ginny sent him a confused glance. "What do you mean?"

"If your_ dear_ brother were stronger and knew how to use his balance to his advantage, I would've been out much longer. He hits like a girl." Draco responded with a relieved smirk, sitting down across from Ginny, but looking curiously in the direction of the kitchen where Hermione's shouts had all but faded.

"Then, according to your definition, you got beat up by a girl." Ginny said laughing after a few moments of thoughtful silence. The Slytherin's smirk faltered as he realized that he'd set himself up for that one all too easily. He remained silent as he figured that anything he tried to retaliate with would only make it worse and instead sent the girl a half-hearted glare.

"And if you think Ron overreacted just because you were 'staring' at me during dinner, wait till Fred and George come home for breakfast tomorrow morning. I wouldn't even come within one meter of me, if I were you." She said with a laugh as she stood and silently walked up the stairs to her room.

Either Draco had been around the Weasley's too long, or he really did have a good reason to be feeling more than slightly apprehensive concerning the Weasley twins arrival.

xXxXx

"Where's the food at?" Fred demanded immediately upon entering through the door early the next morning. Draco scowled and sunk lower in the sofa that only slightly hid him.

"Honestly, George, you could at least say hello to your mother first and let her know that you're both here." Hermione chastised with a roll of her eyes as the two twins quickly hurried over to her and gave her a suffocating hug.

"No need," Fred said after he'd released the girl. "You see, she already knows we're here."

"Oh, you mean because of the clock?" Hermione asked in a strangled voice as George still refused to let her go, only now, he was continuing to hug her simply because Ron had entered the room and was looking at the two furiously.

"Ah, so naïve, this one." Fred muttered to George with a fond smile as he ruffled Hermione's hair, her attempts at trying to dodge him failing horribly as long as George still had a firm grip on her.

George nodded in agreement, finally letting her go. "While she _could_ use the clock to notify her of our arrival-"

"-she instead uses the connection that every mother has with their _favorite_ children." Fred continued.

"When a favorite child, or in this case favorite twins, come home, there's no need for an announced arrival. She feels it in her heart." George finished with a wink. Ginny scoffed and then, after realizing that she'd drawn their attention to herself, hastily ran behind Harry, using him as a shield.

"Harry, old chap," Fred greeted as he and George quickly swooped down on the Gryffindor Seeker, clapping him hard on the back.

"Thanks for that, Gin." Harry muttered in between coughing fits.

"What was that?" George asked suspiciously.

"I said, er, oh my, how long it's been." The raven-haired boy quickly covered.

"Think he's a nancy boy?" Fred whispered to his twin as they both took a small step away from Harry.

"Must be." George concluded. "We saw him hardly three days ago; it really hasn't been that long."

Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw Draco slipping discreetly into the kitchen. Sharing an evil grin, they both strode to the kitchen side by side, only separating to pass under the doorway, but quickly joining up again as they entered.

As soon as they'd left, Hermione quickly grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her up the stairs, dragging the confused girl to the room they shared and muttering hasty excuses to Ron and Harry. Ginny shut the door, quickly realizing that whatever Hermione wanted to say was of importance. Looking at Hermione expectantly, they both sat down on the Head Girl's cot.

"He kissed me," she said simply after a moment of silence.

Ginny was floored. "Who?"

"Percy," she answered as Ginny's jaw dropped even further. "Ron, of course! Honestly, Ginny, 'who?' Who else would it have been?" The redhead laughed as she hugged her knees.

"When did it happen, how did it happen? Tell me everything," she begged.

"Shh, they'll hear," Hermione said hurriedly, tossing an offhand silencing charm at the door. Ginny waited expectantly. "It happened last night, after I'd brought Harry and Ron into the kitchen. I had just finished yelling at the two of them for their rude behavior towards Malfoy, but I was relieved because we'd finally sorted it all out. Harry quickly excused himself, saying he needed some fresh air, but I saw him nudge Ron on his way out…" she trailed off thoughtfully, just then realizing why Harry had done that.

"Hermione, get back on track, what happened next?" Ginny said, hurriedly interrupting the girl's train of thought.

"Right, so then Ron and I just stood staring at each other for a moment. I guess a moment was all it took for him because just as I was getting ready to ask him if he was alright, he took a step forward, cut me off mid-sentence, and…kissed me."

"Does that mean that you two are…you know, dating now?" Ginny asked tentatively, not wanting to ruin Hermione's dreamy outlook.

"I suppose so," she said quietly. "You cannot say a _word_ of this to anyone, though. I've kept your secret, now you have to keep mine."

"Why the bloody hell not?" Ginny blurted out, openly confused.

"Listen, Gin. I'm a smart girl, and I know the kind of reaction we'll get once we start telling people. For example, I can instantly deduce that when someone hears the name, 'Hermione,' in the same sentence with the word, 'dating,' jaws will drop, confused looks will cover faces. Words like, 'how,' and, 'why,' and, 'quick, William, get the children into the nearest shelter because the world is obviously coming to an end,' will immediately fly out of people's mouths."

"Come now, Hermione," Ginny said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. "It won't be like that at all. The whole school of Hogwarts has been waiting since you and Ron's _first year_ to hear the words, 'Hermione,' in the same sentence with the words, 'dating Ron.' I'll keep it quiet, but just as you told me, only for now. Once we return to school, I can't say I'll be able to hold it in much longer."

Hermione nodded and the two girls silently shook on it, both agreeing to keep each other's secrets between the two of them.

xXxXx

"I told my mum the Burrow had rats," Fred said with a disgusted expression on his face as he eyed the Slytherin sitting uncomfortably at the table.

"Fredrick Weasley, that is no way to say hello to your mother," Molly said, turning angrily from the stove and quickly stepping in between George and Draco before anything could happen to the defenseless Slytherin.

"Morning, Mum," both twins said concurrently. Draco smirked at the boys behind Mrs. Weasley's back and was barely able to contain a snort when they each got smacked on the head for cursing at him.

"Boys," she said curtly to them. "I've explained the situation to you countless times, and I've also had you both promise me countless times that you would behave. Please, for my sake at least, be courteous to the lad."

"Of course we will, Mum." George agreed instantly with an innocent smile. He then walked over to Draco. "So sorry to have offended you. Would you like a piece of candy to help start things over on a nicer note?"

"George Weasley, don't you dare give him that!" Molly shrieked, hurriedly grabbing the candy before it could reach Draco's hand. With an angry yank, she pulled him outside, leaving Draco alone in the kitchen with George. Suddenly very aware that Mrs. Weasley was no longer there to interfere, and that his wand was upstairs in Percy's room, Draco warily turned to find George sitting across from him smiling pleasantly.

"You look like hell," the redhead said simply.

"Thanks," Draco muttered sarcastically. "Which one are you, now? Fred was it?"

"No, Fred just got pulled outside by me mum. I'm George. Let's eat, shall we?" He grabbed the plate of bacon, never taking his eyes of the Slytherin.

"I won't be falling for any of your planned pranks, so you can just give it up now, _George_. Pass the toast." Draco spat with venom. Fred merely blinked.

"That's too bad for you, because all Weasley's love a challenge, and I have yet to fail once I've set a goal. Would you like some jam with that toast?" He answered, still maintaining his polite smile.

Draco never broke the eye-contact between himself and the Weasley. "I believe you'll soon find that threats do not faze me, and no, butter will be just fine for me. I would like some juice, though."

"My pleasure," Fred said and slowly stood from his chair to retrieve the pitcher of orange juice, underhandedly slipping a small yellow potion. It wasn't just for Malfoy, however. "Here you are." He said passing the pitcher to the Slytherin and tossing a nod at his twin brother as he and his Mum walked back into the kitchen.

"Oh, Draco, did you see the letter on the counter addressed to you from Professor Dumbledore?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, here it is, Mum," George quickly interjected. "It must have fallen off the counter." Silently, he handed it to Draco who hurriedly stuffed the envelope into his pocket.

"Time for breakfast, everyone," Mrs. Weasley called loudly before watching with worried eyes as Fred and George purposely sat themselves on either side of Draco, who refused to show any emotion about this. Ginny walked in and also observed this and quickly sat across from Draco. That way she could keep a close eye on the twins and Draco. Ron and Harry entered the kitchen, with Hermione not far behind, and all three smiled knowingly as the twins generously offered the orange juice to everyone in the room.

"None for me thanks. I'm not quite thirsty." Harry replied, while Ron and Hermione followed his example and also turned down their offer, much to their disappointment.

Ginny, however, was much too focused on making sure nothing happened to Draco, and was absently sipping on a glass of fresh orange juice. Knowing that something would soon occur, Ron and Harry fought over the seat at the end with the best view. In the end, Harry won, pointing out to Ron that the best seat for him would actually be beside Hermione. Upon this casual mention, Fred and George quickly pulled their attention away from the orange juice to tease their younger brother.

"What, did you bonk her or something?" Draco asked suddenly, and just as quickly as he'd said it, a look of utter shock came on his face, as if he hadn't actually meant to say those words.

Mrs. Weasley was shocked. "Draco Malfoy, there will be none of that talk in my house!"

"Sorry, dunno why I said that, really…" he trailed off. Fred and George were seemingly unaware of what was going on and instead filled their plate with more porridge.

"Merlin, Malfoy, why on earth would I shag her with my Mum in the same house?" Ron asked and hurriedly clapped a hand over his own mouth as his mother looked at him in outrage.

"Are you saying that you would…_shag_ this girl as soon as you were out of my provision? Is that what you meant to say," she roared. Ron shook his head, no, and looked wide-eyed down at his bowl of black pudding and realizing this was also one of the items that Fred and George had eschewed from eating. Harry and Hermione similarly looked alarmed towards their bowls.

Ginny snorted. "Honestly, Ron, your teeth are brighter than you are!" All chatter at the table was stopped.

"Ginevra Weasley, don't you dare utter insults like that at my breakfast table," Mrs. Weasley ordered in a frustrated and tired tone, confused at why everyone was behaving so.

"Well she probably said it without thinking," Hermione tried to cover. "The way she does most things."

"Oi, what are you on about?" Ginny asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, Gin, I didn't mean it, honestly!" The Head Girl exclaimed, thoroughly flabbergasted.

"Ruddy hell, Mione. If you were my girlfriend, I think I might put poison in your juice." Harry blurted out and quickly stuffed his mouth with more food to prevent himself from saying anything else.

Hermione appeared shocked. "And if I were your girlfriend, I think I would most definitely drink it! Oh, bugger, Harry, I didn't mean that. I'm not being myself right now, I guess."

Draco snickered. "Anyone who told you to be yourself couldn't have given you worse advice."

"Mister Malfoy, and the rest of you, not including the twins, I see you are all incapable of enjoying a _civilized_ breakfast, so you can kindly leave the table." Mrs. Weasley said curtly, patting the twins proudly on the back. The two identical redheads smiled smugly at the others.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Draco began. "If I've said anything to offend you, it was purely intentional."

"Chaos, panic and disorder-" Fred started casually wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"-right, our work here is done," George finished, standing and quickly leaving the room while the shouting began.

xXxXx

A few hours later, after all the commotion in the kitchen had calmed down considerably, and the potion had worn off, George and Fred were leisurely relaxing in the backyard, lying in the grass and discussing new products. It was a rather crisp day, with snow clouds filling the sky above them and trees beginning to curl as the frost settled in onto their branches.

A light dusting of snow had previously fallen that morning and was lightly scattered on the ground, though this didn't seem to unnerve the twins in the slightest. Their breaths came out in films of crystallized mist but quickly dissolved into the even more frigid air. That was how Draco found the two when he exited the Burrow. He coughed lightly and waited until her had both of their attention.

"I've come to ask a favor of you two," Draco began, somewhat hesitantly.

"Sorry, what was that?" Fred asked sitting up abruptly and leaning back on his elbows.

"You didn't hear me?" The pale blonde ground out, looking over his shoulder to make sure none of the others had followed him out.

"No, we heard you." George replied, also sitting up and leaning back on his elbows. "We just wanted to make you say it again," he said with a cheeky grin that simultaneously appeared on Fred's face.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Right, well I'm sure you read the letter Dumbledore sent me, George. And I'm positively certain that you and Fred have discussed it quite thoroughly." They nodded in response. "Then I shouldn't have to explain my request in much detail."

"Take a seat," Fred offered. Deciding that doing as they said would be his best option at this point, Draco quickly sat down in front of the two, forcing himself to appear calm, though in all honesty, he was extremely intimidated.

"As you both well know, I'm not allowed to leave the Burrow until we go back to Hogwarts for school," he began, not even allowing himself to look disgusted at this. "In the letter, Dumbledore informed me that my father's goons showed up at his office for an unannounced 'meeting.'

"During this meeting, they attempted to threaten the old man, (pillocks, the both of them) and ordered that he reveal my location. Obviously, the Headmaster didn't, though I don't know why, but in his letter, he strictly informed me that any leaving of this property would get me expelled from Hogwarts. Of course, now I need to get out of here even more, therefore, I've come to you two. Get. Me. Out. Of. Here."

Fred and George exchanged thoughtful glances and were silent for a couple of minutes, seemingly communicating without words.

"We've discussed our options and we've come to the conclusion that we _will_ help you…on certain conditions." Fred said grinning evilly as Draco's face became visibly paler.

"We can help you get out of here for a couple of hours while we're taking Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione to Hogsmeade to do their Christmas shopping, just so long as you do each and every thing we ask of you until you go back to Hogwarts." George said casually.

Draco nodded, quick to agree with any plan that would allow him a few hours to get away from the Burrow. It would also give him a chance to buy himself some more cigarettes, as he'd already used his whole pack just after the breakfast incident.

"Hold out your wand." Fred ordered. Draco did so and watched in mild worry as George muttered the correct incantation that would legally bind the Slytherin to the twins according to their agreement.

"Now what," Draco asked.

"We'll alter your appearance, give my Mum a plausible excuse about your sudden disappearance, and take you with us to Diagon Alley." George explained, standing with Fred as they pulled Draco to his feet.

"Remember, it'll only last two hours maximum." Fred cautioned.

"_Metamorphtanous_," they whispered simultaneously, directing their wands at Draco. He looked down in amazement as his hands slowly began changing their form and felt his body doing similarly.

"Would you like to take a look at yourself?" George asked with a mischievous grin as he summoned a mirror. Draco hurriedly grabbed the item from the redhead's hands and promptly dropped it in shock as he saw his appearance.

xXxXx

A/N: Terribly sorry about the wait, but as I said at the beginning of the chapter, things will pick up soon, I promise. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As always, thanks so much to my lovely reviewers!

**Jade Summers **: Don't worry, my new beta's not too severe (as I'm sure this delayed posting of the chapter had lead you to discern), but he does do his job quite well, I must say. I'll keep your threat towards him in mind, however. Never know when I'll need a beta-biter ;).

**Alexandria J. Malfoy **: I do love to write about the conflicts between Ron and Draco, hehe, so much fun involved with those scenes. Hope you continue to enjoy the story!

**padfootedmoony** : Draco wouldn't be a Malfoy if he knew when to keep his insults to himself…I think that's why I love his character so much. It's just so funny to read about him in the books whenever he begins arguing with the trio. I'm glad you liked the last chapter!

**.spitxfire.** : You're right about last chapter's 'cliffhanger.' When I went back to re-read it, wasn't really as suspenseful as I'd hoped because I think everybody easily figured it out. Oh well, perhaps I'll get better with those. Hope this one was worth the wait!

Thanks again to all those who read and don't review, I appreciate that you even glance at my story! If you'd like to drop a comment, though, I would be thrilled to hear any suggestions you might have for me.

Sunflour


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